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. 2020 Sep 11:75:e1764.
doi: 10.6061/clinics/2020/e1764. eCollection 2020.

Accuracy of a portable breath meter test for the detection of halitosis in children and adolescents

Carolina Cardoso Guedes  1 , Sandra Kalil Bussadori  2 , Ana Carolina Mota Garcia  2 , Lara Jansiski Motta  2 , Andréa Oliver Gomes  2 , Raimar Weber  3 , Olga Maria Silverio Amancio  1
Affiliations

Accuracy of a portable breath meter test for the detection of halitosis in children and adolescents

Carolina Cardoso Guedes et al. Clinics (Sao Paulo). .

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the accuracy of the Breath-Alert™ portable breath meter (BA) for the detection of halitosis in children and adolescents, considering the organoleptic test (OT) as the gold standard in this assessment.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 150 children (aged 6-12 years). OT was performed by three independent examiners on a single occasion, obtaining three scores of 0-5 points on the Rosenberg's organoleptic scale. The median of the three evaluations for each child was used for analysis. BA was used according to the manufacturer's instructions, with breath odor scored from 0-5 points. Scores ≥2 on both tests were considered indicative of halitosis.

Results: A total of 26 (17.3%) and 23 (15.3%) children were detected with halitosis on the OT and BA tests, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the BA scores for the detection of halitosis were 80.76% and 98.38%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values for BA were 91.3% and 96.06%, respectively.

Conclusion: In the present study involving children, who require fast, practical examinations, BA proved to be an auxiliary tool to OT for the detection of halitosis in the practice of pediatric dentistry, demonstrating high sensitivity and specificity.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Halitosis scoring using a Breath-Alert™ device.
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