Patients with depression may be less likely to see the dentist compared to individuals without this illness, according to a study published recently in the International Journal of Dental Hygiene.
To improve oral health, as well as access to care, policies should focus on improving access and improving dental health among these individuals, the authors wrote.
“Depression has severe impacts on chronic conditions including oral diseases, health behaviours, and use of preventive medical and dental services,” wrote the study's lead author, Dr. Rolla Mira of the faculty of dentistry at King’s College in London (Int J Dent Hyg, May 30, 2026).
It's estimated that 1 in 5 U.S. adults has a mental disease, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Globally, more than 280 million people are affected by depression, according to the study.
In comparison to the general population, those with serious mental health problems have a life expectancy that is 10 to 25 years shorter. Since dental health is essential to good overall health, clinicians and governments should make moves to improve outcomes.
To investigate the use of dental services among those with depression and whether the need is independent from the need for oral care, a cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017-2020, comprising 6,566 adults age 20 and older.
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) assessed an individual's depression status, and dental visits and routine dental visits were assessed through self-reported questionnaires in NHANES. Furthermore, dentists evaluated adults’ need for immediate dental care. Finally, regression models were used to evaluate the correlation between depression and dental service utilization, according to the study.
Adults with depression had lower odds of seeing a dentist in the previous year (odds ratio [OR] 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.57 to 0.91; p < 0.01) and lower odds of routine dental visits (OR 0.66; 95% CI, 0.50 to 0.86; p < 0.01) than those without depression, the authors wrote.
However, the study was not without limitations. The cross-sectional nature of the study provides a glimpse of this association at only one point in time, thereby preventing researchers from establishing causality, they wrote.
“Given the critical connection between oral health and general well-being, further research is required to fully comprehend these interactions and investigate measures to improve dental care use among those experiencing depression,” Mira and colleagues wrote.
