Oral health self-perception for transgender people: a controlled cross-sectional study

Abstract

This article aims to verify the use of dental services, oral health self-perception, and the impacts of oral health on the daily lives of transgender people. A controlled cross-sectional study was conducted in which transvestites, transsexuals, and transgender people were compared to cisgender people. For data collection, the oral health self-perception questionnaire was applied to 90 people, from which 45 were cisgender and 45 were transgender. There were no differences regarding access to dental services. The data analysis revealed that transgender people perceive their teeth to cause nervousness (p=0.002) and shame (p=0.033), respectively 3.8 and 5.0 times higher than that observed for cisgender people. Although differences in access were not observed, there was a difference in the perception of the need for treatment and the impacts of oral health. Therefore, it is important to consider that comprehensive care for the transgender population should go beyond the treatment of oral diseases and include aesthetic expectations as well.

Oral health-related quality of life in the LGBTIQ+ population: a cross-sectional study

“…5 Difficult access to dental treatment could be associated with worse OHRQoL, as confirmed in previous studies. 9 As for accessibility to dental treatment, there is evidence that the LGBTIQ+ population has less access to health services, including dental services, [1][2][3][4][5][6]11 both in terms of quantity and quality, a fact that could be attributed to the professionals' lack of preparation and sensitivity to take care of this population, which reiterates inequities in their access to health services. 11,38 In addition, there are some obstacles encountered by these individuals in their access to health services, which is initially characterized by the difficulty and even inaccessibility to the health care network, discriminatory care by the services, embarrassment, prejudiced connotations, or even verbal and/or physical offenses uttered by professionals.…”

“…Higher values denote poorer OHRQoL. 18,19 The independent variables were organized considering their explanatory possibilities for the outcome of the study 10,11,16,18,19 based on the minority stress model develop by Meyer. [20][21][22] According to that model, socioeconomic factors and barriers to access services are considered examples of general stressors that affect the mental health of LGBTIQ+ people.…”

“…7,8 Until then, few studies had analyzed the OHRQoL of the LGBTIQ+ population worldwide, [9][10] including Brazil. [11][12] The only two studies published in Brazil to date were carried out with five LGBTIQ+ re-educated students from a prison in João Pessoa, state of Paraíba, and a controlled cross-sectional study conducted with 90 cross-dressing, trans, and transgender people in Uberlândia, state of Minas Gerais, comparing the OHRQoL of 45 cisgender and 45 transgender people. [11][12] Therefore, there is a need for studies with larger and more representative samples, as well as studies that investigate associations between socio-contextual variables and OHRQoL in this population, in order to fill these gaps in scientific production in Brazil.…”

Oral health‐related stigma: Describing and defining a ubiquitous phenomenon

“…42 To illustrate this point, people who identify as transgender experience up to five-fold greater shame related to oral health compared with cis-gender controls. 43 Homeless populations experience significantly more embarrassment or shame related to their oral health compared with the general population and feel acutely stigmatized by both their homelessness and their visibly unhealthy mouths. 42,44 Poor oral health coupled with addiction and mental illness can lead to experiences of dentists blaming and criticizing patients and people who are Black are more likely to be provided with extractions compared with restorative care.…”

“…As a result, people with stigmatized identities may have low self‐esteem and fear further humiliation when going to the dentist 42 . To illustrate this point, people who identify as transgender experience up to five‐fold greater shame related to oral health compared with cis‐gender controls 43 . Homeless populations experience significantly more embarrassment or shame related to their oral health compared with the general population and feel acutely stigmatized by both their homelessness and their visibly unhealthy mouths 42,44 .…”