A Before and After Study about the Effects of Korean Medical Treatment on Halitosis Patients: Using OralChroma ™

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical effect of Korean medical treatments such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, and electroacupuncture by using the portable gas chromatograph OralChroma ™ (Abimedical, Japan) in halitosis patients. Methods: We surveyed 30 halitosis patients who had visited the Oral Diseases Clinic in the Korean Medical Hospital of Kyunghee University from October, 2013 to November, 2014. Before starting Korean medical treatment, the subjects were evaluated on sociodemographic characteristics, severity of discomfort using visual analogue scale (VAS), unstimulated salivary flow rate (USFR), and halitosis associated life-quality test (HALT) score. To evaluate the therapeutic effect, we measured the volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) in breath by using OralChroma™ before and after 3 weeks treatment. Results: The concentration of total VSCs measured by OralChroma ™ significantly decreased (p=0.001). Furthermore, the level of hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan also significantly decreased (p 0.05). Conclusions: Korean medical treatment was effective in treating halitosis by decreasing VSCs. Further study, with well-designed randomized controlled trials with larger number of cases will be needed in the future.