Degree and duration of temporary halitosis from odoriferous foods

Objectives: The purposes of this study were to determine the degrees and duration of temporary halitosis from odoriferous foods, and to compare such degrees between before-after ingestion, and between foods. Materials and methods: Twelve subjects (divided into 4 groups, 3 per group) with no oral pathology were assigned to chew odoriferous food (garlic, leek or durian) for 1 minute before ingestion. The levels of volatile sulfur compounds in oral cavity, detected by halimeter and represented the degrees of temporary halitosis, were recorded at the time before and at 0, 15, 30 and 45 minutes after ingestion. Analytic statistics in Paired-t Test was used to compare the degrees of temporary halitosis before-after each food ingestion. Comparing the degrees of temporary halitosis among odoriferous foods, Kruskal-Wallis Test was analyzed. Results: The degrees of temporary halitosis before-after: garlic ingestion at 0, 15, 30 and 45 minutes; leek ingestion at 0, 15 and 30 minutes; and durian ingestion at 0 minutes; were significantly different (p < .05). Duration of temporary halitosis from garlic, leek and durian were at least 45 minutes, during 30-45 minutes and during 0-15 minutes, respectively. Among odoriferous foods, the degree of temporary halitosis from garlic was significantly greater than that from leek, while that from durian was the least (p < .05). Conclusion: The degree and duration of temporary halitosis from garlic were greater than those from leek, while those from durian were the least. Key word: odoriferous foods; temporary halitosis; volatile sulfur compounds