Oral Health Status and Factors Related to Oral Health in Patients with Schizophrenia: A Matched Case-Control Observational Study

Background: Schizophrenia (SCZ) patients have disproportionately poor oral health outcomes owing to a multidimensional set of factors, such as pathophysiology of the disease, drug-related adverse effects and lower utilization rate of dental healthcare services. The aim of the present observational study was to compare the indicators of dental and periodontal health in patients with SCZ to those of nonaffected healthy controls; furthermore, the influence of various anamnestic factors and lifestyle habits on oral health status were also assessed. Methods: A total of 50 SCZ patients-in remission-receiving treatment at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Szeged, were compared with 50 age- and gender-matched healthy controls attending the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Szeged. Participants' dental (decayed, missing and filled surfaces [DMF-S] and decayed, missing and filled teeth [DMF-T]) and periodontal (plaque index [%], bleeding on probing [BOP%], pocket depth [PD] and attachment loss [AL]) status was measured according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Results: In total, 74.0%, 80.0% and 78.0% of SCZ patients received second-generation antipsychotics, benzodiazepines and mood stabilizers, respectively. Patients with SCZ had significantly higher DMFs (81.30 ± 40.16 vs. 61.64 ± 40.56; p = 0.010), D (8.18 ± 7.73 vs. 4.18 ± 4.22; p < 0.001) and DMF-T (18.20 ± 8.36 vs. 14.42 ± 8.21; p = 0.024) scores but significantly lower F (1.84 ± 0.29 vs. 4.62 ± 3.98; p < 0.001) scores compared to the controls; male subjects had significantly lower DMFs (74.52 ± 39.72 vs. 90.67 ± 39.1; p = 0.020) and DMF-T (16.52 ± 8.12 vs. 20.52 ± 8.32; p = 0.031) scores. Additionally, SCZ patients had significantly higher plaque indices (56.96 ± 23.19 vs. 27.44 ± 17.53; p < 0.001), BOP% (58.96 ± 22.89 vs. 23.56 ± 17.53; p < 0.001), PD (2.84 ± 0.67 vs. 2.19 ± 0.49; p = 0.024) and AL (3.39 ± 1.72 vs. 2.49 ± 0.76; p < 0.001) values compared to controls. Smoking > 10 cigarettes/day was associated with worse dental and periodontal indices, while consuming ≥ 4 units/week of alcohol was associated with worse periodontal indices, respectively (p < 0.05 in all cases). In contrast, coffee consumption rates and vitamin supplementation status had no significant effect on oral health status indicators. Conclusions: Our study highlights the overall poor oral health status of individuals affected by SCZ and the need for targeted preventive interventions.