Mental health issues are closely related to the incidence of oral problems such as bone loss or bleeding gums
At the 52nd Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the AADOCR (American Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research) a study was presented which examines the association between mental health and oral health in a cross-sectional and longitudinal way, that is, analyzing how one type of disease affects the others and how they evolve over time.
The study, led by Alex Kalaigian of the School of Dentistry at the University of California, San Francisco, collected data from the Population Assessment Study of Tobacco and Health and the GAIN-SS (Global Appraisal Individual Needs-Short Screener) to measure the mental health symptoms according to three categories of disorders: internalizing, externalizing and substance use. Internalizing behavior is inward-directed behavior, while externalizing behavior is an outward-directed type of problem behavior, such as aggression and conduct disorder.
Six oral health conditions were assessed: perceived oral health, bleeding gums, loose teeth, tooth loss, gum disease, and bone loss. A cross-sectional analysis compared the prevalence of these conditions weighted by the severity of mental health problems.
Cross-sectionally, all six oral health-related complaints increased as the severity of mental health problems increased. For example, people with severe internalizing mental health issues were 1.79 times more likely to lose bone around their teeth than those without, and the same was true for bleeding gums, which was 1.4 times more likely with those without. more serious disorders. However, associations with externalizing and substance use problems were not significant.
The study concluded that physicians and health professionals should expect higher levels of oral disease among patients with mental disorders. Regardless of externalizing and substance use problems, symptoms of internalizing problems are a risk factor for oral health.
REFERENCE
Study examines link between mental health and oral health
Source: AADOCR