Skip to main content

Psychiatric Disorders - Oral Health Care Considerations

  • Poorly controlled patients may be uncooperative, agitated, or irritated and may even show some degree of hostility.
  • Address oral side effects (see below) from medications.
  • Address possible substance abuse.
  • Address possible self-mutilation Camera icon.
  • Do not use codeine or erythromycin in patients taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
  • Avoid levonordefrin and limit the use of epinephrine to 0.054 mg (3 carpules of 100:000 conc.) in patients taking tricyclic antidepressants.
  • Use narcotics judiciously in patients taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs).

Oral side effects associated with medications used for psychiatric disorders:#

Antidepressants - bruxism, gingivitis, glossitis, dysgeusia, sialadenitis, stomatitis, tongue discoloration, tongue edema, xerostomia

Antipsychotics - bruxism, gingivitis, glossitis, dysgeusia, dysphagia, sialorrhea, stomatitis, tongue discoloration, tongue edema, xerostomia

Benzodiazepines - gingivitis, dysgeusia, sialadenitis, sialorrhea, xerostomia

Mood stabilizers - glossitis, dysgeusia, sialadenitis, stomatitis, xerostomia

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) - bruxism, gingivitis, glossitis, dysgeusia, dysphagia, sialorrhea, stomatitis, tongue discoloration, tongue edema, xerostomia


Medical Complexity Status - Psychiatric Disorders#

Psychiatric DisordersMCS1B
Anticipated
complication
Controlled/
stable
 HemostasisNone
 Microbial
 susceptibility
None
 Drugs/ drug
 interactions
Minor
 Stress/traumaNone

See Medical Complexity Status for more information.


Related Pages#

References/Websites#