Prevalence of oral mucosal disorders in institutionalized and non-institutionalized psychiatric patients: a study from AVBR Hospital in central India

Abstract

Dental treatment is reported to be the greatest unattended health need of people with a disability. The aim of the present study was therefore to quantify the prevalence of oral diseases with a psychosomatic component (recurrent aphthous stomatitis, burning mouth syndrome, and oral lichen planus) in psychiatric patients and to screen these patients for any other oral disorders, so that better care could be provided. In this cross-sectional, singleassessment study, 150 psychiatric patients were evaluated for presence of oral disorders. They were screened based on their socio-demographic profiles, clinical profile, and standardized psychiatric scales. The prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS), burning mouth syndrome (BMS), and oral lichen planus (OLP) was 19.33% (29 patients), 20.66% (31 patients) and 5.33% (8 patients), respectively, amongst all psychiatric patients. The prevalence of burning mouth syndrome was much higher in patients taking psychiatric medications (25%) than in drug-naïve patients. On screening for other oral disorders, 35.33% of psychiatric patients had at least one other such disorder. We concluded that this patient group experiences a considerable burden of occult oral disorders necessitating thorough oral care. We also described the possible causes of the higher prevalence of oral disorders in psychiatric patients. (J Oral Sci 54, 85-91, 2012)

A Population-Based Study of the Incidence of Burning Mouth Syndrome

“…As shown in Table 1, the reported prevalence rates of BMS differ widely, from 1.0% to 40%. 1,5,22–31 Most studies report a prevalence of about 1% to 6%, with a significantly higher prevalence in women. Our study is suggestive that BMS is an uncommon disease.…”

“…39 In addition, the use of diverse study methods in earlier studies—including surveys, questionnaires, and retrospective reviews—influences results and complicates comparison. 5,22,23 …”

“…1,5,22–31 Depending on the study, prevalence rates range from 1% to 40%. The disease is highly prevalent in middle-aged women.…”

Prevalence of bucco-dental pathologies in patients with psychiatric disorders

“…This is particularly important in patients with special needs, such as psychiatric patients (1). These patients have a tendency to be more prone to develop bucco-dental diseases, due to their lack of motivation, the difficulty to perform a proper mouth health technique, the hurdles that have to be overcome to treat them dentally, and the negative effects caused by psychotropic medications, affecting the normal physiology of salivary glands and epithelia of the oral mucous, causing xerostomy or sialorrhea (3-5).…”

“…Different authors have reported that patients with mental illnesses get inadequate dental care due to ignorance, fear, stigmas, or negative attitudes by the professionals (1). …”