Efficacy of a zinc lactate mouthwash and tongue scraping in the reduction of oral halitosis: A single-blind, controlled, crossover clinical trial—a pilot study

Abstract

Halitosis is defined as an unpleasant odor that comes out of the mouth. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of zinc lactate mouthwash and tongue scraping on oral halitosis. The study was conducted on 60 volunteers that were divided into two groups and followed two types of 14-day oral hygiene protocols on a cross-over basis after a 7-day wash-out period. One protocol was based on tooth brushing only, while the other was based on additional mouth rinsing with a zinc lactate product and tongue scraping. Morning mouth breath was assessed organoleptic and by volatile sulfur compound concentrations. The highest mean organoleptic and volatile sulfur compound measurement values were found in the tooth brushing without mouth washing and tongue scraping oral hygiene protocol (p < 0.05). The zinc lactate mouthwash combined with tongue scraping appears to be an important hygienic procedure to reduce breath odor. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.