Periodontal Disease and Bad Breath – Are They Related?

7th Workshop of the ARPA Foundation

Mel Rosenberg presenting on
Periodontal Disease & Bad Breath

Are They Related?

Friday, 2010-03-19 - 2.15 pm, Munich

Dentists often assume that periodontal disease is a major cause of bad
breath. Indeed, bad breath is often cited as being a warning sign of
periodontal disease. But is it? This is the issue which I will address
in my presentation. Indeed, various studies have demonstrated
significant associations between gingival index and probing depth (on
the one hand), and oral malodor, as determined by odor judges and
volatile sulphides (see, for example the review by Morita and Wang in
2001). However, several publications, notably that of Bosy et al.
(1994), conducted on over 120 Canadian subjects, did not find a
significant association between the two (although the level of malodor
was slightly elevated in the periodontal disease group.

Specific questions to be addressed:
• Why do some studies show significant differences between periodontal
disease parameters and bad breath whereas other studies do not?
• What role does the posterior dorsal tongue play in this relationship?
• Is interdental plaque an important factor?
• Should we find other ways of measuring bad breath to identify the
periodontal contribution?

• Should bad breath be a factor in determining how dentists and
periodontists view the oral cavity, instruct patients and monitor
treatment?


Address: Europäische Akademie für zahnärztliche Fort- und Weiterbildung der BLZK GmbH –eafz
Zahnärztehaus München
Fallstr. 34
81369 München

Prof. Mel Rosenberg, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv 69978 Israel (melros@post.tau.ac.il)