Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-mp689 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-16T05:43:40.103Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Nature and extent of dental pathology and complications arising in patients receiving ECT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Nita Beli
Affiliation:
Final Year Dental Student Birmingham Dental Hospital and School Birmingham
Peter Bentham*
Affiliation:
The Queen Elizabeth Psychiatric Hospital Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2QZ
*
Correspondence
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

This study aimed to describe the prevalence of dental pathology in patients receiving electroconvulsive therapy and to prospectively determine the incidence of dental complications arising during treatment. Of 30 subjects, 93% complained of a dry mouth and 83% were taking drugs with anticholinergic properties. A third wore dentures and the dentate population had a mean of 15 decayed, missing or filled teeth. Oral hygiene and periodontal condition was poor with one-third requiring scaling and 30% complex periodontal treatment. Temporomandibular pain followed 44% of treatments, and minor buccal lesions occurred in 22%. Greater emphasis must be placed on dental care, and guidelines are suggested to improve practice.

Type
Original Papers
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

References

Ainamo, J., Barnes, D., Beagrie, G., et al (1982) Development of the World Health Organization community peridontal index of treatment needs. International Dental Journal, 32, 281291.Google Scholar
Durrant, B. (1966) Dental care in electroplexy. British Journal of Psychiatry, 112, 11731176.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McClure, R. E. (1969) A device for preventing dental injuries during ECT. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 20, 357359.Google ScholarPubMed
Minneman, S. A. (1995) A history of oral protection for the ECT patient: past, present and future. Convulsive Therapy, 11, 94103.Google ScholarPubMed
Royal College of Psychiatrists (1995) The ECT Handbook . The Second Report of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Special Committee on ECT (Council Report CR39). London: Royal College of Psychiatrists.Google Scholar
Slawson, P. (1989) Psychiatric malpractice and ECT: a review of national loss experience. Convulsive Therapy, 5, 126130. Weiner, R. D. & McCall, W. V. (1992) Dental consultation in ECT. Convulsive Therapy, 8, 146.Google ScholarPubMed
World Health Organization (1992) The Tenth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD–10). WHO: Geneva.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.