If you are Feeling Blue, your Teeth Might be too! Relationship between Oral and Mental Health

This poster discusses the two-way association between oral and mental health. In one direction, the prospect of dental treatment can lead to anxiety and phobia. In the other, many psychiatric disorders such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Eating disorders (ED) and Schizophrenia. If teeth are left untreated, dental diseases can lead to teeth loss such that people with severe mental illnesses have 2.7 times the likelihood of losing all their teeth, compared to the general population. Possible interventions include oral health assessments using standard checklists that can be completed by nondental people.