Oral hygiene status and factors related to oral health in hospitalized patients with schizophrenia.

Objective: This study aimed to elucidate the oral hygiene status and the factors associated with poor oral hygiene among patients with schizophrenia.

Methods: The relationships of oral hygiene status (calculus index [CI], debris index [DI]), the mean number of decayed-missing-filled teeth (mean DMFT), and Revised Oral Assessment Guide (ROAG) with related factors (hospitalization, chlorpromazine equivalents [CPZE], age, Barthel Index [BI], frequency of cleaning teeth, and self-oral hygiene ability) among 249 hospitalized schizophrenic patients were investigated.

Results: The results for oral hygiene status were as follows: median (range); CI 0.5 (0-6.0), DI 1.7 (0-6.0), ROAG 10.0 (7.0-15.0); and mean DMFT 21.7 ± 7.3. The average CPZE was 524.4 ± 353.6 mg (mean ± SD), and the BI was 76.4 ± 30.7. There was a negative correlation between BI and DI (r = -0.34), and a positive correlation between age and mean DMFT (r = 0.57). Male patients tended to have worse oral conditions (ROAG) than females. The least-squares multiple regression analysis revealed that BI for DI, age for mean DMFT, sex for ROAG, and self-oral hygiene ability for CI, DI, and mean DMFT were factors related to oral health status.

Conclusion: Patients with schizophrenia tended to have poor oral hygiene. BI, being male, and low activities of daily living were associated with poor oral hygiene. Furthermore, advanced age was associated with an increased risk of dental caries.