Mental Health Problems In Dentistry

There are psychiatric disorders in dentistry, which because of lack of recognition have not been well documented. Some of the disorders pose management difficulties to the dentist because he is not trained to recognise them. For instance disorders that have psychological or multifactorial aetiology, which tend to characterise mental illness are not well treated. Pain is the commonest reason for the patient to visit the dentist. If the pain is non-organic, the diagnosis and management pose a problem to the dentist. Most pains that arise from psychological illness exist in association with personality and neurotic disorders. These disorders include dentophobia, stress, bruxism and more severe conditions associated with behavioural problems or dysfunctions. The dentist ought to be trained in rudimentary Psychiatry to be able to recognise and determine when psychiatric referral is necessary. We therefore, advocate the teaching of Psychiatry to dental students, which would focus predominantly on their needs. Keywords: Mental Health, Problems, Dentistry Annals of Biomedical Science Vol. 1 (1) 2002: pp. 1-1