Importance of oral healthcare for mental health patients hailed

Posted by Joanne Mellor

Researchers in Australia have published a study showing the importance of mental health patients maintaining a high standard of oral healthcare during their time in hospital.

They stated that this is a part of the care of patients in their position that may be missed by the nurses looking after them, Nursing Times reports.

The authors of the study pointed out that oral health assessments were not routinely made in mental health patients as they should be.

“Oral health and oral inflammatory disease are the result of lifestyle and behaviour and mental disorders affect both lifestyle and behaviour,” they commented in the report, which was published in the Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing.

Chief executive of the British Dental Health Federation Dr Nigel Carter recently said it is concerning how many people with mental health issues drink and smoke to excess, increasing their chances of developing mouth cancer.