Get our Bad Breath Research Newsletter!

2nd. Edition

Imaginary Bad Breath ("Halitophobia")

Several of the contributors in this present volume (Eli et al., Miyazaki et al., Rosenberg and Leib, Preti et al., Yaegaki) allude to the problems associated with imaginary bad breath ("halitophobia"). Although various psychological terms have been used to describe this population, (e.g., delusion, hypochondria, obsessive-compulsive disorder, olfactory reference syndrome) none are satisfactory. In milder cases, "halitophobics" worry about having bad breath constantly and tend towards obsessive oral care and masking techniques, yet get on with their lives. Others may go from specialist to specialist (Hawkins, 1987), spend decades in isolation, have their teeth extracted (Massler et al., 1951) and may even commit suicide (Yaegaki, this volume). Since the current success rate in dealing with such individuals appears to be low, we must seek ways to develop treatment regimens combining psychological and/or psychiatric counseling together with physiological feedback, in order to adequately treat those suffering from this debilitating problem.