Halitosis

Also Know As Bad Breath, Breath Odour

Halitosis

Efficacy of Alternative and Other Treatments According to GRADE* Ranking:

Pokeweed Antiviral Protein (PAP) [8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present. Warning! All parts of the plant, Pokeweed (Phytolacca Americana), is poisonous and should not be ingested. Thoroughly cooking the plant reduces that toxicity. The effects of the improperly prepared plant include vomiting, diarrhoea, cramps, headache, confusion, convulstions, low blood pressure, heart block and death. Only plant extracts (PAP) or thoroughly prepared plants should be ingested, and even then, under professional medical guidance.

Recommendation: no recommendation (There is insufficient evidence to support claims that PAP helps to treat halitosis)

Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence

* www.gradeworkinggroup.org

Summary References

Treatments
1. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec08/ch094/ch094c.html?qt=halitosis&alt=sh#sec08-ch094-ch094b-912ff

2. http://www.mrw.interscience.wiley.com.ezproxy.library.uwa.edu.au/cochrane/clsysrev/articles/CD005519/frame.html

3. http://www.mrw.interscience.wiley.com.ezproxy.library.uwa.edu.au/cochrane/clsysrev/articles/CD006701/frame.html

4. Rosenberg M. The science of bad breath. Sci Am. 2002 Apr;286(4):72-9

5. Yaegaki K, Coil JM, Kamemizu T, Miyazaki H. Tongue brushing and mouth rinsing as basic treatment measures for halitosis. Int Dent J. 2002 Jun;52 Suppl 3:192-6

6. Scully C, Rosenberg M. Halitosis. Dent Update. 2003 May;3

7. Naveen Pattnaik, The Tree of Life

8. Ades T, Alteri R, Gansler T, Yeargin P, "Complete Guide to Complimentary & Alternative Cancer Therapies", American Cancer Society, Atlanta USA, 2009

9. http://www.cbif.gc.ca/pls/pp/ppack.info?p_psn=12&p_type=all&p_sci=sci&p_x=px

10. http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Phytolacca+americana

11. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/315368

12. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002874.htm

13. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/pokeweed

Public Discussion