Attitudes towards individuals with halitosis: an online cross sectional survey of the Dutch general population

Objective To derive an estimate of encounters with halitosis and to assess the impact of halitosis on their psychosocial interactions with halitosis patients.

Methods Participants were 1,006 members of an online panel, being representative of the population of the Netherlands with regard to gender, age, family situation, education level and labour participation. They were invited to participate in a survey using an online questionnaire with four questions on becoming faced with people having halitosis.

Results Almost 90% of the participants indicated being faced with a person having halitosis regularly, 40% at least once a week, and men significantly more frequently than women. Halitosis was reported to be a strong 'downer' when meeting a person for the first time. Whether one would draw a person's attention to his breath malodour proved to be related to the kind of person involved and appeared to decrease with the increase of the social distance to the person. Drawing a person's attention to his breath malodour would virtually always be performed personally.

Conclusion Halitosis is considered to be one of the most unattractive aspects of social interactions and has potentially damaging effects on psychosocial interactions and relationships.