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Nature and extent of dental pathology and complications arising in patients receiving ECT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Nita Beli
Affiliation:
Final Year Dental Student Birmingham Dental Hospital and School Birmingham
Peter Bentham*
Affiliation:
The Queen Elizabeth Psychiatric Hospital Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2QZ
*
Correspondence
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Abstract

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This study aimed to describe the prevalence of dental pathology in patients receiving electroconvulsive therapy and to prospectively determine the incidence of dental complications arising during treatment. Of 30 subjects, 93% complained of a dry mouth and 83% were taking drugs with anticholinergic properties. A third wore dentures and the dentate population had a mean of 15 decayed, missing or filled teeth. Oral hygiene and periodontal condition was poor with one-third requiring scaling and 30% complex periodontal treatment. Temporomandibular pain followed 44% of treatments, and minor buccal lesions occurred in 22%. Greater emphasis must be placed on dental care, and guidelines are suggested to improve practice.

Type
Original Papers
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

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