Bad Breath: Big Breadth
“Halitosis Among Racially Diverse Populations: An Update,” S Rayman and K Almas, International Journal of Dental Hygiene, vol. 6, no. 1, February 1, 2008, pp. 2-7 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18205647). (Thanks to Kristine Danowski for bringing this to our attention.) The authors, at Eugenio Maria De Hostos Community College of The City University of New York, report:
Halitosis (oral malodour or bad breath) is caused mainly by tongue coating and periodontal disease…. The paper reviews the prevalence and distribution of halitosis, oral malodour, its aetiology, concepts of general and oral health and diseases and their perception among racially diverse population… The perception of halitosis is different in culturally diverse populations.
(That’s an excerpt from the article “Improbable Medical Review,” published in AIR 14:3.)