Oral health status and dental treatment needs among non-institutionalized psychiatric patients

Abstract EN

•bjectives: To describe the oral health status among non-institutionalized patients with chronic psychiatric illness ceiving long-term anti-psychotic and anti-depressant medications and to compare the oral health status with a similar oup without such history. lethods: Forty psychiatric outpatients were selected as a study group on the having chronic psychotic illness and on suroleptic medications for at least 2 years.

The control group consisted of 40 healthy dental patients who were selected match the study group by age and gender, and for both groups 20 teeth excluding the third molars should be present.

emographic characteristics, smoking and brushing habits in addition to dental examination including decayed, missed lied teeth, plaque index and periodontal treatment needs according to the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment eeds were recorded for each patient in both groups. .esults: Psychiatric diagnosis for the study group revealed that 57% were having schizophrenia and 43% mood sorders, the mean duration of illness was 11 years.

The mean age was 34.8yrs for the study group and 34.6yrs for the mtrol group with a male female ratio of 1:1 in both groups.

Dry mouth was the chief complaint among 40% of the jychiatric patients while dental pain was the main complaint among 60% of the control group.

The mean indices for e study vs.

control groups were as follows, (9.07vs.

8.65) for the decayed-missed-filled-teeth, (1.96 vs.

1.55) for the aque index and (2.3 vs.

1.97) for the periodontal treatment needs.

Filled teeth and plaque index score-0 were gnificantly greater in the control group, while plaque index score-3 and periodontal treatment need score-1 were gnificantly greater in the study group.

About 47.5% of the psychiatric patients were smokers compared to 30% of the mtrol group.

Regarding brushing habits, 50% of the psychiatric patients never brushed their teeth while 60% of the mtrol groups brush their teeth once or twice daily. 'onclusion: Oral health status of chronic psychiatric outpatients seems to be worse than that of the mentally healthy jpulation.

Mental health professionals should pay more attention to dental care and oral health needs of the .ychiatric outpatients.