Association between depression levels and self-perceived oral health among medical students

Abstract

© 2020 Sciendo. All rights reserved. The aim of the study was to determine the correlation between depression levels, oral health, oral health habits and subjective feelings in the region of the mouth and teeth in senior medical students. A total of 103 students at the final study year at the Faculty of Medical Science, University of Kragujevac, participated in the research. Two types of questionnaires were used in this research - Beck Depression Inventory-II and Oral Health Questionnaire for Adults. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS, version 21. Chi-square test was performed and the results with p-value less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. There was no statistically significant difference between the levels of depression among genders. Twenty-one point four percent of students had depression. The correlation between depression levels and oral health variables showed that frequency of brushing teeth and avoiding smiling were significant between different levels of depression among females. The problems with biting food and problems in social interaction were significant among genders. Depressive feelings were noticed among senior medical students and they affected their self-perceived oral health. Oral health promotion programs targeting the young population could help improving oral health behaviour.