title: [Health information on oral malodor in Japanese newspaper articles].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Mass media is an important source for the general public to obtain health information. Newspapers especially have the advantages of providing a variety of information to a broad range of age groups, with wide regional coverage of both urban and rural areas. The purposes of this study were to review the oral malodor information in Japanese newspapers and to investigate peoples' knowledge on the causes of oral malodor.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Nikkei Database was used to select articles published in five major newspapers over a period of 12 years from 1993 to 2004. "Oral malodor" was used as a key search word. A total of 386 articles which contained oral malodor information were identified and used for the analysis. A questionnaire survey was conducted for the patients who visited a fresh breath clinic (n=295).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average number of articles per year was 32.2 +/- 7.3 and there was not a significant difference among years and months. There were only 25 articles (6.5%) with the central theme of oral malodor. More than half of the articles introduced anti-oral malodor products. The causes of oral malodor were described in 35% of the articles (n=134). Periodontal disease (n=57), tongue coating (n=35), otorhinolaryngological diseases (n=19), stomach problems (n=14) and psychological factors (n=21) were described as the causes of malodor. Only 35 articles (26%) described the treatment and prevention of halitosis. According to the questionnaire survey, 39% of the patients answered that they did not know the causes of malodor. Less than half knew that oral problems were related with malodor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It was revealed that the information about oral malodor in newspapers was not enough both quantitatively and qualitatively; people had little information about oral malodor. It is suggested that dental professionals should be aware of the importance of media advocacy to provide appropriate oral health information to the public.
authors.affiliation: Oral Health Promotion, Department of International Health Development, Division of Public Health, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University.
authors.forename: Tomohito
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yanagisawa
authors.forename: Sayaka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Furukawa
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ueno
authors.forename: Kayoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shinada
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawaguchi
mesh_terms: D006209:Halitosis / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D007564:Japan; D009524:Newspapers as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires