Oral Health in Mentally Ill Patients Attending the Outpatient Clinic of Taha Baasher Psychiatric Hospital, Khartoum

AIMS: Mental illness has been very common lately and the mentally ill are a special population with their own particular set of needs and challenges. In general physical health of the mentally ill is poorer than that of the general population and oral health is especially neglected hence the desire to quantify this. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional hospital based study conducted in the outpatient clinic of Taha Basher Psychiatric teaching hospital. The sample (90) was selected randomly from among the adult patient attendants who agreed to participate in the study. RESULTS: The mean DMF was 4.91 +/-4.46 . It was positively correlated to age and duration of illness. It was higher in females and the greatest proportion was due to missing teeth and the smallest proportion was the filled teeth. There were no dentures used by any of the patients. CONCLUSION: Those involved in the study reflect the poor level of oral health among the mentally ill population and this deficiency is unfortunately not receiving enough attention of care givers or mental health professionals. The dental community ought to establish a professional referral system with such facilities to facilitate patient care.