Abstract
One of the territories of dental psychosomatics is the link between personality characterisctics and dental status. The aim of the present study was to survey the relationship between temperament and character factors and dental status in police students. It can be hypothesized, that some temperament factors can increase the risk for dental health problems. After dental screening 792 police students completed the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) devised by Cloninger. 57.5% of students rated their own teeth as being in good or very good condition, and only 2.8% as bad condition. In persons rating their dental status as “good”, the average DMFT was 9.23±5.01 (mean±S.D.). In students assessing their own oral health as bad, TCI results showed that a higher percentage of students displayed extravagance, impulsiveness, disorderliness than the overall population. Among the students with good self-assessment but bad teeth, there was a higher percentage of students displaying passivity, low assertiveness, and introversion. The temperament and character factors may have negative consequences for students in an institution which exposes them to high stress level. It may be useful to screen these students using subjective health questionnaires in order to permit more effective efforts to positive health behaviour.
[1] Genco R.J., Ho A.W., Grossi S.G., Dunford R.G., Tedesco L.A., Relationship of stress, distress and inadequate coping behaviors to periodontal disease, J Periodontol, 1999, 70, 711–723 http://dx.doi.org/10.1902/jop.1999.70.7.71110.1902/jop.1999.70.7.711Search in Google Scholar
[2] Dumitrescu A.L., Psychological perspectives on the pathogenesis of periodontal disease, Rom J Intern Med, 2006, 44, 241–260 Search in Google Scholar
[3] Emodi-Perlman A., Yoffe T., Rosenberg N., Eli I., Alter Z., Winocur E., Prevalence of psychologic, dental, and temporomandibular signs and symptoms among chronic eating disorders patients: a comparative control study, Orofac Pain 2008, 22, 201–208 Search in Google Scholar
[4] Garcia-Pola Vallejo M.J., Martinez Díaz-Canel A.I., Garcia Martin J.M., González Garcia M., Risk factors for oral soft tissue lesions in an adult Spanish population, Community Dent Oral Epidemiol, 2002, 30, 277–285 http://dx.doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0528.2002.00048.x10.1034/j.1600-0528.2002.00048.xSearch in Google Scholar
[5] Cinar A.B., Kosku N., Sandalli N., Murtomaa H., Individual and maternal determinants of self-reported dental health among Turkish school children aged 10–12 years, Community Dent Health, 2008, 25, 84–88 Search in Google Scholar
[6] Monteiro da Silva A.M., Newman H.N., Oakley D.A., O’Leary R., Psychosocial factors, dental plaque levels and smoking in periodontitis patients, J. Clin Periodontol, 1998, 25, 517–523 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-051X.1998.tb02481.x10.1111/j.1600-051X.1998.tb02481.xSearch in Google Scholar
[7] Hobdell M.H., Oliveira E.R., Bautista R., Myburgh N.G., Lalloo R., Narendran S., Johnson N.W., Oral diseases and socio-economic status (SES), Brit Dent J, 2003, 194, 91–96 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.480988210.1038/sj.bdj.4809882Search in Google Scholar
[8] Sutton P.R., Psychosomatic dental disease: is mental stress in adults followed by acute dental caries in all racial groups? Med Hypotheses, 1993, 41, 279–281 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0306-9877(93)90248-O10.1016/0306-9877(93)90248-OSearch in Google Scholar
[9] Baranyai R., Bakos G., Steptoe A., Wardle J., Kopp M., Egyetemisták és főiskolások szívbetegséggel kapcsolatos egészségmagatartása, rizikótudata és hiedelmei. (Health behaviour, risk knowledge and beliefs among university and college students linked with hearth diseases.) Ment Pszichoszom, 2006, 7, 125–138 http://dx.doi.org/10.1556/Mental.7.2006.2.410.1556/Mental.7.2006.2.4Search in Google Scholar
[10] Cloninger C.R., Svrakic D.M., Przybeck T.R., A psychobiological model of temperament and character, Arch Gen Psychiatry, 1993, 50, 975–990 http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1993.0182024005900810.1001/archpsyc.1993.01820240059008Search in Google Scholar PubMed
[11] World Health Organization: Oral Health Surveys: Basic methods, WHO, Geneva 1997 Search in Google Scholar
[12] Vass É.ZS., Milyen az újoncok foga 1995-ben?, (What is the dental condition in new recruits in 1995?) Fogorv Szle, 1997, 90, 267–272 Search in Google Scholar
[13] Dawson A.S., Smales R.J., Dental health changes in an Australian Defence Force population, Aus Dent J, 1994, 39, 242–246 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1834-7819.1994.tb04785.x10.1111/j.1834-7819.1994.tb04785.xSearch in Google Scholar PubMed
[14] Suman M., Spalj S., Plancak D., Dukic W., Juric H., The influence of war on the oral health of professional soldiers, Int Dent J, 2008, 58, 71–74 10.1111/j.1875-595X.2008.tb00178.xSearch in Google Scholar
[15] Vered Y., Sgan-Cohen H.D., Self-perceived and clinically diagnosed dental and periodontal health status among young adults and their implications for epidemiological surveys, BMC Oral Health, 2003, 3, 1–6 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6831-3-310.1186/1472-6831-3-3Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
[16] Fábián T.K., Kelemen P., Fábián G., A Dental Anxiety Scale („Fogászati szorongás skála”) hazai bevezetése. Magyar populáción végzett fogászati szorongás epidemiológia vizsgálatok, (Introduction of the concept of Dental Anxiety Scale in Hungary. Epidemiologic studies on the Hungarian population.), Fogorv Szle, 1998, 91, 43–52 Search in Google Scholar
[17] Cloninger C.R., Przybeck T.R., Svrakic D.M., Wetzel R.D., The temperament and character inventory (TCI): A guide to its development and use. Washington: St. Louis, MO: Center for Psychobiology of Personality, Washington University, 1994 Search in Google Scholar
[18] Faragó I., Nagy G., Márton S., Túry F., Szabó E., Hopcraft M.S., Madléna M., Dental caries experience in Hungarian police student population, Caries Res 2012, 46, 95–101 http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/00033639010.1159/000336390Search in Google Scholar PubMed
[19] Lencová E., Broukal Z., Dusková J., Psychosocial, behavioural and oral health indicators — review of the literature, Prague Med Rep, 2006, 107, 305–316 Search in Google Scholar
[20] Sirpa A.V., Depressive symptoms in relation to oral health and related facors in a middle-aged population, Analytical approach, Acta Univ. Oul., Academic dissertation, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland, 2003 Search in Google Scholar
[21] Skec V., Macon J.S., Susac M., Jokic D., Rajdic D., Macon D., Influence of Oral Hygiene on Oral Health of Recruits and Professionals in the Croatian Army, Mil Med, 2006, 171, 1006–1009 10.7205/MILMED.171.10.1006Search in Google Scholar PubMed
[22] Hopcraft M.S., Morgan M.V., Dental caries experience in a young adult military population, Aus Dent J, 2003, 48, 125–129 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1834-7819.2003.tb00021.x10.1111/j.1834-7819.2003.tb00021.xSearch in Google Scholar PubMed
[23] Muhvic-Urek M., Uhac I., Vuksic-Mihaljevic Z., Leovic D., Blecic N., Kovac Z., Oral health status in war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, J. Oral Rehabil, 2007, 34, 1–8 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2842.2006.01674.x10.1111/j.1365-2842.2006.01674.xSearch in Google Scholar PubMed
© 2013 Versita Warsaw
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
