Oral Malodor: A Periodontal Perspective

Dr. Perry R. Klokkevold, DDS, MS

Table 1: Diagnostic Tests

Diagnostic Test	Method Category	Measures	Comments
Cupped breath, saliva or Dental Floss	Self Assessment	Olfactory sense of offensive breath, saliva or plaque	Not very reliable unless the source is removed from the body proper
Organoleptic	Subjective measurement	Olfactory sense of offensive breath	Depends on examiner experience
Portable sulfide monitor	Objective instrumental analysis	Quantitative measure of the presence of VSCs in sampled mouth air	Accurately measures total sulfide content
Gas chromatography	Objective instrumental analysis	Quantitative measure of the presence of VSCs in sampled mouth air	Precisely measures each specific compound in the mouth air
Bacterial culture	Indirect measurement	Presence of specific bacteria from periodontal sample	Growth and analysis takes time and expertise. Does not measure oral malador
Bacterial culture	Indirect measurement	Presence of specific bacteria from periodontal sample	Growth and analysis takes time and expertise. Does not measure oral malador
BANA hydrolysis	Indirect measurement	Quantitative measure of hydrolysis of N-benzoyl- DL-arginine- 2-naphthylamind (BANA)	Detects the presence of bacteria that can hydrolize BANA. Does not measure oral malador.