College Students Reporting Worse 'Ipnaemsae' Recently, Cause Identified as Alcohol and Smoking... 'They Are Aware of Their Own Smell'

Survey on Oral Care of 154 University Students
Smoking Habits Also Affect During Drinking

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Recent research has revealed that bad breath among university students has worsened. The cause is the habit of not brushing teeth after drinking alcohol. A research team led by Professor Sujin Jeong from the Department of Dental Hygiene at Konyang University conducted a survey of 154 domestic university students from July 18 to August 9, 2023, and published a study titled "The Effect of Drinking Habits of Some University Students on Oral Care Behavior and Self-Perceived Halitosis."

Analysis showed that among university students who consumed two or more bottles of soju, half brushed their teeth two times or fewer per day. Notably, 7 out of 10 (70.4%) reported a very high rate of self-perceived bad breath due to reasons such as not brushing after drinking. Interestingly, the lower the alcohol consumption, the better the toothbrushing habits. In the group consuming "0.5 bottles of soju or less," 68.2% brushed their teeth three times or more per day.

On the other hand, in the groups consuming "1 to 1.5 bottles of soju" and "2 or more bottles of soju," more than half brushed their teeth two times or fewer per day, specifically 55.4% and 55.6%, respectively. Among those who drank two or more bottles of soju, only 3 out of 10 (29.6%) brushed their teeth after drinking.

Accordingly, the rate of self-perceived bad breath varied according to the amount of alcohol consumed. In the group drinking two times or fewer per month, 53.2% reported "no awareness" of bad breath, while in the group drinking once or twice per week, 51.7% reported "average." Conversely, in the groups drinking three to four times per week and five or more times per week, 71.4% and 83.3% respectively reported "awareness" of bad breath.

Meanwhile, among the group that did not smoke while drinking, 41.5% reported "average" self-perceived bad breath, whereas in the smoking group, 51.6% reported "awareness." This suggests that smoking also affects bad breath.

The research team emphasized, "Factors affecting self-perceived bad breath are drinking frequency, amount of alcohol consumed, toothbrushing frequency, and tongue cleaning, in that order." They added, "To prevent bad breath caused by drinking, it is important to practice moderation by reducing drinking frequency and amount, and to improve awareness and induce behavioral changes in oral care to prevent deterioration of oral health due to drinking."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.