Oral Health in War Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a syndrome arising from a variety of overwhelming and/or extremely traumatic experiences. Whatever the source of the problem, people with PTSD repeatedly relive the trauma and usually believes that the traumatic event is happening all over again. Aim: The aim of this study was to estimate oral health in Croatian War Veterans with PTSD. Methods: A group of 100 male subjects (x=35.56±6.12; range 25-52) who had participated in the War in Croatia and had PTSD was examined. The control group comprised 96 subjects of the same sex and age (x=34.5±7.67; range 24-51) who hadn't participated in the war and hadn't PTSD. The clinical examination included determination of the number of missing teeth, untreated caries, and restorations. Parodontal health was determined by CTIPN index. The clinical examination of the function of the stomathognatic system was performed. Results: The mean value of missing teeth in PTSD group was 8,27±3,98, compared to 4,23±2,85, in the control group (t=5,55; p=0,09). The mean value of untreated caries in the PTSD group was 2,36±4,06, compared to 0,75±2,41 in the control group (t=2,46; p<0,01), and restorations 4,17±4,37 in the PTSD group compared to 7,13±5,56 (t= 3,04; p>0,05). The parodontal health was estimated using CTIPN index, the mean value in PTSD group was 1,64±1,04, compared to 0,52±0,79 (t=6,19; p<0,05). Eighty two per cent of the group with PTSD had at least one sign of TMD compared to 24% of the healthy subjects (Chi-square 55.26; p<0.0001). Conclusion: High presence of missing teeth, untreated caries, TMD signs and simptoms, and higher values of CTIPN in exameenes with PTSD and statistically significant difference compare to healthy control group confirms the important role of war stress on oral health.