An Assessment of Tongue Coating among University of Benin Undergraduate Students

Abstract

Background: Tongue coating is a common aetiology of oral malodour which affects the social, psychological and social wellbeing of an individual. Despite the potential negative impact of tongue coating on the individual, its management is still far from the ideal. It is therefore necessary to critically assess the level of coating of the tongue.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of tongue coating and oral malodour among University of Benin undergraduate students and the age/ gender variation in their level of coating and oral malodour.

Methods: This observational cross-sectional study was carried out using 425 undergraduate students of the University of Benin. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to elicit information on the participants' demographic characteristics, perceived oral malodour, tongue cleaning aids and frequency of tongue cleaning. Tongue coating assessment was done using the Kojima index of tongue coating and organoleptic assessment was used to measure participants' level of oral malodour.

Results: The prevalence of tongue coating was 13.9%. Majority of participants with tongue coating (66.1%) had thin coating of more than one third but less than two thirds of the tongue or a thick coating of less than one third of the tongue dorsum. The age and gender distribution of tongue coating was not statistically significant. The prevalence of oral malodour among the study participant was also 17.9%. Only 34.2% of cases of malodour were not self- perceived. More of the study participants (55.6%) in the age group > 30 years had barely noticeable malodour, 36.4 % in the age group 24-30 years had moderate oral malodour while 38.9 % in the age group 15-23 years had slight but noticeable oral malodour (P=0.005). More persons among the males

(41.0%) and females (37.8%) had barely noticeable malodour (P= 0.886)

Conclusion: The prevalence of tongue coating and oral malodour among the studied undergraduate students is low. There was no statistically significant relationship between age/ gender and the level of tongue coating of the study participants but the variation in the level of malodour across the age groups in this study was statistically significant.

Key words: Oral malodour, Tongue Coating