The characteristics of hospital emergency department visits made by people with mental health conditions who had dental problems

How Mental Health Correlates with Subjective Oral Health Status: A Cross-Sectional Study among a Group of University Students

AIM

This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the association between subjective oral health status and mental illness in a group of university students in Riyadh City of Saudi Arabia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A self-report questionnaire collected data on demographics, subjective oral health and mental health. The Arabic version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scales were administered. Students' participation was voluntary. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).

RESULTS

A total of 614 students participated in the study, 45.28% (n = 278) were males and 54.72% (n = 336) were females. Oral health status was assessed, and most participants rated their oral health status as good 53.75% (n = 330). This study also assessed mental health among the participants and found that 50.49% (n = 310) of students were suffering from different degrees of depression. Approximately, 46.74% (n = 247) of students reported experiencing certain degrees of generalized anxiety disorder. Mental disorders were significantly correlated with subjective oral health status, since participants who rated their oral health as poor or very poor tended to have higher PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores. In conclusion, the findings showed a notable relationship between mental disorders and subjective oral health status among a group of university students. Therefore, the results can be used to help improve service provision, which would ultimately enhance students' mental health.

Using big data to promote precision oral health in the context of a learning healthcare system

There has been a call for evidence-based oral healthcare guidelines, to improve precision dentistry and oral healthcare delivery. The main challenges to this goal are the current lack of up-to-date evidence, the limited integrative analytical data sets, and the slow translations to routine care delivery. Overcoming these issues requires knowledge discovery pipelines based on big data and health analytics, intelligent integrative informatics approaches, and learning health systems. This article examines how this can be accomplished by utilizing big data. These data can be gathered from four major streams: patients, clinical data, biological data, and normative data sets. All these must then be uniformly combined for analysis and modelling and the meaningful findings can be implemented clinically. By executing data capture cycles and integrating the subsequent findings, practitioners are able to improve public oral health and care delivery.

Educating medical students in oral health care: current curriculum and future needs of institutions in Malaysia and Australia

Poor oral health has been associated with compromised general health and quality of life. To promote comprehensive patient management, the role of medical professionals in oral health maintenance is compelling, thus indicating the need for educational preparation in this area of practice. This study aimed to determine the extent of training in oral health in Malaysian and Australian medical schools. An audio-recorded semi-structured phone interview involving Academic Programme Directors in Malaysian (n = 9, response rate=81.8%) and Australian (n = 7, response rate = 35.0%) medical schools was conducted during the 2014/2015 and 2014 academic years, respectively. Qualitative data was analysed via thematic analysis, involving coding and grouping into emerging themes. Quantitative data were measured for frequencies. It was found that medical schools in Malaysia and Australia offered limited teaching of various oral health-related components that were mostly integrated throughout the curriculum, in the absence of structured learning objectives, teaching methodologies and assessment approaches. Barriers to providing oral health education included having insufficient expertise and overloaded curriculum. As medical educators demonstrated support for oral health education, collaboration amongst various stakeholders is integral to developing a well-structured curriculum and practice guidelines on oral health management involving medical professionals.

Prevalence estimates and outcomes of mental health conditions in those hospitalized owing to dental conditions

OBJECTIVE

Identify characteristics of individuals with mental health conditions who use hospital resources to manage dental conditions.

STUDY DESIGN

Data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample for the years 2007 to 2010 were used. All hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of dental conditions were selected. Hospitalizations with secondary diagnoses of mental health conditions were identified.

RESULTS

During the study period, 67,517 hospitalizations were primarily attributed to dental conditions. Of these, 12 080 also involved a mental health condition. The most frequently prevalent mental health conditions were mood disorders (9.9% of dental hospitalizations) and anxiety disorders (3.9%). The mean age of those with a mental health condition was 47.7 years (37.7 years for those without mental health conditions). A greater proportion of those with a mental health condition had Medicare coverage compared with those without a mental health condition (39.4% vs 17%). Those with mental health conditions also had a higher comorbid burden.

CONCLUSIONS

When individuals with mental health conditions are hospitalized for a dental condition, they are more likely to be older and sicker and to use more hospital resources. Better preventive care may benefit patients and health care budgets.