Dental health behavior and self-reported dental health problems among hospitalized psychiatric patients in Denmark

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to describe dental health behavior and self-reported oral health problems among hospitalized psychiatric patients. Two hundred and forty dentate patients were interviewed with regard to participation in school dental care, dental visiting habits, self-assessment of oral health, dental anxiety, and oral hygiene habits. Dental visiting habits were associated with gender, psychiatric diagnosis, duration of mental disorder, and fear of dental care. Moreover, toothbrushing habits varied with gender, status as inpatient or day-hospital patient, number of admissions, and psychiatric diagnosis. Constant regular dental visits were observed among 31 % of the participants, whereas regular toothbrushing was reported by 55%. Compared with reference figures of the general population, these figures reflect a relatively poorer dental health behavior among the study participants. The study underlines the need for specific preventive dental programs, which aim at improving the poor dental health behavior among psychiatric patients.