Effects of an Oral Health Promotion Program in People with Mental Illness

Abstract

More knowledge is needed regarding what works to prevent oral health problems and reduce disparities in oral health. Motivational interviewing (MI) has demonstrated utility for improving health behavior, including among those with severe mental illness. This study tests whether MI enhances the efficacy of an oral health education intervention in individuals with severe mental illness. Sixty individuals were randomly assigned to MI plus oral health education or oral health education alone. Plaque scores, oral health knowledge, and self-regulation were assessed at baseline and at 4 and 8 weeks. Repeated-measures ANOVA showed improvement (p < 0.05) in plaque, autonomous regulation, and oral health knowledge across time for both groups; however, individuals receiving MI improved significantly more when compared with those receiving oral health education alone. Results suggest that MI is effective for enhancing short-term oral health behavior change for people with severe mental illness and may be useful for the general population.

Innovative interventions to promote positive dental health behaviors and prevent dental caries in preschool children: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

“…Two dental hygienists will serve as MI counselors in this study, while in some other studies dental MI was delivered by professional counselors (psychologists or social workers) [39,40]. Delegating the dental counseling work to professional counselors, who require minimal training on health MI, will definitely contribute to an easy implementation of the project.…”

Patient Education and Motivation in Periodontics

“…Adherence with the information provided and the patient's oral hygiene status are then monitored at subsequent treatment sessions 16 Yet, motivating patients to change their oral health behavior is indeed a challenge for dental professionals and a complex issue, which has led to the introduction of Motivational Interviewing (MI) in dentistry . 14,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] MI is a client centered therapeutic method in which the therapist has an important role in increasing the client's readiness for behavior change and reinforcing his/her commitment to change. 25 MI was originally developed for use in the field of drug abuse but has shown to be applicable to initiate beneficial health behavior change within other areas.…”

“…27 Commonly, MI was used in combination with conventional oral health educational intervention Almomani et al reported a positive effect of a brief MI session, as a prelude to oral health education, on oral hygiene behavior in a group with severe mental illness. 21 Jonsson et al used techniques from the MI method as an integrated part of an individually tailored oral health education program directed to patients receiving periodontal treatment. The intervention comprised seven separate components for tailoring the program to each individual's needs; analysis of knowledge, expectations and motivation, practice of manual dexterity for oral hygiene aids, individual goals for oral hygiene behavior, continuous self-monitoring, generalization of behavior and, finally, maintenance of oral hygiene behavior and prevention of relapse.…”

Oral Health of People with Psychiatric Disorders

“…Furthermore MI has been shown to be effective for enhancing short-term oral health behavior change for people with severe mental illness. (Almomani, Williams, Catley, & Brown, 2009) 3.1 Barriers to oral health care for people with psychiatric disorders Most oral health professionals have limited experiences in providing care for people with psychiatric disorders. (Waldman, Perlman, Waldman, & Perlman, 2002) The barriers exist in organization and financing of the care needed as well as in proposing strategies to enhance the delivery of appropriate treatment.…”