Raising awareness of oral health care in patients with schizophrenia

Oral health is an integral part of physical health and poor oral health, can have wider implications for disease and wellbeing. People with severe mental illness have poorer oral and physical health than the general population, but oral health is still overlooked in routine care. This article describes a service evaluation to raise the profile of oral health with patients being treated for schizophrenia, their family members and carers, and clinicians involved in their care. Interviews with 106 patients with schizophrenia revealed that 95% had not been asked about their oral health by clinicians and that those who smoked were the least likely to have visited a dentist. An oral health promotion leaflet was developed to help raise awareness among patients and clinicians