ABSTRACT
Volatile sulfur compounds are known to be major contributors to oral malodor, and their detection by gas chromatography (GC) is a commonly used method for evaluating breath odor in clinical trials. A custom-designed breath-sampling GC system was developed for this purpose. A clinical study was performed to compare the performance of this instrumental method to organoleptic evaluation by trained odor judges. A statistically significant correlation was found between the measured levels of volatile sulfurs and the ratings of the odor judges. Both methods performed similarly in evaluating the breath-freshening effects of two test products. These results demonstrate the strength of the GC method for evaluating breath odor and predicting the breath-freshening effects of oral-care products.
Subject(s)
Breath Tests/methods , Halitosis/therapy , Sulfur Compounds/analysis , Adult , Chromatography, Gas , Double-Blind Method , Humans , Middle Aged , Statistics, NonparametricABSTRACT
The objective of this randomized, crossover study was to compare the effectiveness of Colgate Total Advanced Fresh toothpaste to a commercially available breath-freshening dentifrice containing fluoride for its ability to reduce volatile sulfur compounds (VSC) responsible for breath odor overnight. The study followed a two-treatment, two-period crossover design. Subjects were given a test product, along with a soft-bristled toothbrush, and instructed to brush their teeth for 1 minute, twice daily (once in the morning and the evening) using the assigned dentifrice for 7 consecutive days. After their evening brushing on the seventh day, subjects reported to the testing facility without oral hygiene, eating, or drinking for the overnight evaluation. After a washout period, subjects repeated the same regimen, now using the other test product. The levels of breath VSC were evaluated instrumentally using a gas chromatograph equipped with a flame photometric detector.
