IADR Abstract Archives
Oral and Dental Considerations of Combat Induced PTSD- a Comparative Study
Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare dental, periodontal, oral and joint and/or muscle tenderness among Israeli posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) war veterans to non-PTSD patients.
Methods: This retrospective three-arm comparative study compared oral and facial manifestations between 100 Israeli veterans with combat-induced PTSD (study group) and 103 non-PTSD periodontal patients (control group). The study group was divided into two subgroups of individuals who did (40 patients) or did not (60 patients) take psychiatric medication. All patients underwent full dental, oral, and periodontal examinations, including an assessment of signs of parafunction.
Results: All patients were more than 30 years old; the mean age of the study group was 60.55±11.70 years, and that of the control group was 59.93±13.29 years. Although all patients had poor oral hygiene, the difference in the plaque index (PI) between groups was statistically significant (PI=0.72±0.28 for the PTSD group and 0.45±0.29 for the control group). The decayed, missing, and filled teeth score (DMFt) was higher in the PTSD population (19.97±8.07) than in the controls (13.05±6.23). Severe periodontal disease was more common among the PTSD subgroup taking medication (62.5%) than among the nonmedicated group (30.0%) and control group (27.2%) (p=0.001). Heavy smoking followed a similar pattern. Severe signs of abrasion were seen significantly more often (p=0.001) in the PTSD group than in the control group.
Conclusions: The present study shows a statistically significant association between combat-induced PTSD and oral, dental, and periodontal morbidities.
Methods: This retrospective three-arm comparative study compared oral and facial manifestations between 100 Israeli veterans with combat-induced PTSD (study group) and 103 non-PTSD periodontal patients (control group). The study group was divided into two subgroups of individuals who did (40 patients) or did not (60 patients) take psychiatric medication. All patients underwent full dental, oral, and periodontal examinations, including an assessment of signs of parafunction.
Results: All patients were more than 30 years old; the mean age of the study group was 60.55±11.70 years, and that of the control group was 59.93±13.29 years. Although all patients had poor oral hygiene, the difference in the plaque index (PI) between groups was statistically significant (PI=0.72±0.28 for the PTSD group and 0.45±0.29 for the control group). The decayed, missing, and filled teeth score (DMFt) was higher in the PTSD population (19.97±8.07) than in the controls (13.05±6.23). Severe periodontal disease was more common among the PTSD subgroup taking medication (62.5%) than among the nonmedicated group (30.0%) and control group (27.2%) (p=0.001). Heavy smoking followed a similar pattern. Severe signs of abrasion were seen significantly more often (p=0.001) in the PTSD group than in the control group.
Conclusions: The present study shows a statistically significant association between combat-induced PTSD and oral, dental, and periodontal morbidities.