Various simple, effective preventive measures emerge from the study.

health in patients with severe mental illness. Pathologies such as dental caries may warrant referral to a dentist for further assessment and treatment. In addition, future institutional reviews may assess the relationship of dental pathology to any dental or alveolar bone injury during ECT. The results of our institutional review emphasise the necessity for the availability of dental services at institutions where ECT is conducted, given the common presentation of dental pathology. This is crucial not only for the safe administration of ECT, but also as part of optimising the oral health-and consequently the general physical health and well-beingof this vulnerable patient population.