Halitosis Due to Pediatric Ear, Nose, and Throat Field Infections

Halitosis is a general term used to describe the unpleasant odor in the breath due to oral or non-oral reasons. It appears as a condition that can cause psychological problems in children and their families. It has a multifactorial pathology. Although it can occur due to intraoral and extra-oral reasons, in 50% of patients in 90 cases, the cause is intraoral. Halitosis that originates from the mouth is called oral malodor. It occurs due to proteolytic destruction of organic substances in the mouth, especially by anaerobic bacteria found in the tongue coating. Therefore, it is recommended to evaluate and reduce the microbial structure in the mouth in treatment. The accumulation of food residues, epithelial residues, and bacteria on the tongue dorsum as a coating is called tongue coating. It is stated that there is a close relationship between tongue coating and lousy breath (Tonzetich, J Periodontol. 48:13–20, 1977; Yaegaki and Sanada, J Periodontal Res. 27:233–238, 1992). For this reason, the primary source of bad breath is accepted as the tongue dorsum.