A new measurement protocol to differentiate sources of halitosis.

Objective: Three sources of halitosis exist, potentially in any combination: mouth, nasal cavity or alveolar breath. There has been no universally accepted protocol which differentiates and quantifies each odour source separately. In this study a new gas measurement protocol is described and tested to determine whether each odour source can be separately detected without contamination.

Materials And Methods: Ninety healthy volunteers were divided into three groups. Hydrogen sulphide (H2S), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hydrogen (H2) were artificially generated in the mouth, nose and pulmonary alveoli, respectively. VOC, ammonia (NH3), sulphur dioxide (SO2), H2S and H2 gas readings from mouth, nose and alveolar air were measured and compared. Measurements were taken before and during gas generation.

Results: Contamination of nasal air (2.8%) and alveolar air (5.0%) by oral H2S; alveolar air (2.06%) and oral air (4%) by nasal organic gas; nasal air (18.43%) and oral air (9.42%) by alveolar H2 was calculated.

Conclusion: The results demonstrated that artificially generated oral H2S nasal VOC and alveolar H2 can be individually quantified. This gas measurement protocol can be used diagnostically or to gauge response to therapy in any medical or dental setting.