Association between dental neglect and alexithymia among adult dental patients.

AIMS

To show the association between dental neglect and alexithymia among adult dental patients.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

At times, certain individuals with dental neglect may experience trouble in communicating and/or understanding information, ability to identify, and describe their feelings termed as alexithymia. Hence, recognition of alexithymia in a dental setting is important, because it worsens the dentist-patient relationship, especially among patients who neglect their dental health. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among adult patients (≥20 years). Patients received a questionnaire assessing dental neglect [six-item Dental Neglect Scale (DNS)], alexithymia [20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20)], and demographic profile.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Data were analyzed with standard statistical software (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 22). P <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

A total sample of 1067 individuals comprising 553 (51.8%) females and 514 (48.2%) males with a mean age 35.33 ± 11.49 years participated in the study. Our findings showed that females had higher mean scores for both DNS and total TAS-20 and its factors. With increase in age and education, the mean scores of the DNS had significantly increased and mean scores of total TAS-20 and its factors had decreased with increase in age and education.

CONCLUSION

The above study findings have supported the hypothesis that there is no association between dental neglect and alexithymia among adult dental patients.