Oral health status, self‑perceived dental needs, and barriers to utilization of dental services among people with psychiatric disorders reporting to a tertiary care center in Haryana

Abstract

Background: Patients with psychiatric disorders can be vulnerable to oral diseases due to the
adverse effects of medications and disease per se. The aim of this study is to assess oral health status,
self‑perceived dental needs, and barriers to utilization of dental services along with evaluation of
intervention urgency among psychiatric patients.
Materials and Methods: In this cross‑sectional study, 165 individuals were examined at the
psychiatric outpatient department of a tertiary care center. Clinical examination [dentition status
and community periodontal index (CPI) modified] was done according to the World Health
Organization Basic Oral Health Surveys, 2013. Other information was collected by direct interview
and all the data were recorded on a prestructured, validated pro forma. Data were analyzed using
SPSS Software. The statistical significance was determined by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and
level of significance was set at P < 0.05.
Results: Although decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) and CPI‑modified scores increased
with increase in duration of illness, the difference was not statistically significant. Evaluation of
self‑reported attributes revealed that the majority of the individuals had reported dental pain (34.6%)
as their dental problem, 39.6% visit dentist only when there is a dental problem, and 41.7% did not
felt any need to visit dentist. The ANOVA of DMFT in relation to duration of illness (P > 0.062)
and CPI‑modified scores (P > 0.078) were not statistically significant. Although when intervention
urgency was evaluated, 70.3% needed prompt treatment depending on their oral health assessment.
Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that oral health concerns of this marginalized section
of the population are unrecognized and should be given prominence by psychiatrists.