What Every Behavioral Health Provider Should Know About Oral Health and Dental Care

In the words of psychiatrist Steve Kisely, there is “no mental health without oral health.” Decades of research evidence have shown the ways that behavioral health and wellbeing are impacted by oral health: for example, one’s ability to smile with friends and family, get past a job interview, live without chronic pain, get a good night’s sleep, and maintain a varied diet. People living with psychiatric disabilities and substance use disorders are particularly vulnerable to oral health problems. For example, people with psychiatric disabilities have triple the odds of losing all their teeth. Accessing oral health care and successfully completing dental treatment plans is greatly facilitated when patients are well prepared for their appointments, have learned methods to regulate their dental anxiety, and feel confident that the dental team is on their side. The behavioral health provider can therefore play a key role in the success of a person’s oral health recovery and multifactor pain management trajectory.

In this course, behavioral health providers such as social workers, nurses, physicians, and care managers will learn the basics of the oral health: why it is important, how it is linked to behavioral health and chronic pain, what key facts about oral health to share with clients, and where to find resources. Learners will leave the course with practical information that can be applied to social work and other behavioral health practice.