THE IMPACT OF DEPRESSION ON ORAL HEALTH CONDITION

Abstract

Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders and the symptoms cause changes in someone’s behaviour, leading to heavy drinking, eating junk food and smoking, factors that cause damage to the enamel of the teeth, resulting in cavities and tooth infections. The patient’s lack of energy may interfere with the frequency of brushing and keeping up with dentist check-ups, leading to poor oral hygiene. We realized a small study included 40 participants, divided in two groups, 20 participants with depressive symptoms and 20 participants without depressive symptoms. We observed that persons with depressive symptoms drink a significant amount of alcohol and smoke more cigarettes a day compared to the participants without depressive symptoms. Also, the examination of the oral cavity showed that the patients with depressive symptoms presented moderate gingival inflammation with bleeding upon probing in a higher proportion compared to the control group. Although the number of participants was small, there were clear indications that depressive symptoms are associated with poor oral hygiene, leading to negative effects over the periodontium and oral health status, thus leading to a more collaborative team with psychiatrists and dentists.

Keywords

• depression
• oral health
• periodontal diseases