View in EDS HTML Full Text PDF Full Text

Association between dental neglect and alexithymia in individuals seeking dental care: A cross-sectional study.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Association between dental neglect and alexithymia in individuals seeking dental care: A cross-sectional study.
Authors: Sindhusha, Banda Sri Deepti (AUTHOR), Srinivas, Ravoori (AUTHOR), Pachava, Srinivas (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Oral Research & Review. Jul-Dec2026, Vol. 18 Issue 2, p129-133. 5p.
Subjects: Alexithymia, Oral health, Professional-patient communication, Psychological tests, Cross-sectional method
Abstract: Introduction: Alexithymia has become a paradigm linking emotion to health and is considered a stable personality trait. It may affect health by encouraging harmful behaviors, but more significantly, it is seen as a hindrance to effective patient–clinician communication. As oral health is essential to overall health, dental neglect (DN) occurs at every stage of life for various reasons. It is critical to identify alexithymia in a dental context, as it deteriorates the relationship between the dentist and the patient, particularly when the individual neglects his/her oral health. Materials and Methods: The study was cross-sectional and involved adult participants aged 18 years or older. A questionnaire about their demographics, DN, and alexithymia was provided to 150 participants. They included a six-item Dental Neglect Scale (DNS) and a 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Results: There was a statistically significant relationship between DN and alexithymia among the study participants (P = 0.046). The mean DNS scores for males and females were 16.47 ± 2.10 and 16.44 ± 1.58, respectively. The mean TAS-20 scores were 50.90 ± 6.21 for males and 55.32 ± 7.12 for females. Conclusion: The significant association between DNS and alexithymia suggests that difficulty in emotional awareness may contribute to poorer oral health behaviors. The mean DNS with a slightly higher score in males contributes to a higher rate of DN. However, higher TAS-20 scores in females indicate greater alexithymic traits, which may influence their emotions and indirectly affect dental care practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Oral Research & Review is the property of Wolters Kluwer India Pvt Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
Full text is not displayed to guests.
FullText Links:
  – Type: pdflink
Text:
  Availability: 1
Header DbId: pbh
DbLabel: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
An: 195473406
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Association between dental neglect and alexithymia in individuals seeking dental care: A cross-sectional study.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sindhusha%2C+Banda+Sri+Deepti%22">Sindhusha, Banda Sri Deepti</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Srinivas%2C+Ravoori%22">Srinivas, Ravoori</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pachava%2C+Srinivas%22">Pachava, Srinivas</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Oral+Research+%26+Review%22">Journal of Oral Research & Review</searchLink>. Jul-Dec2026, Vol. 18 Issue 2, p129-133. 5p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Alexithymia%22">Alexithymia</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Oral+health%22">Oral health</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Professional-patient+communication%22">Professional-patient communication</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychological+tests%22">Psychological tests</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cross-sectional+method%22">Cross-sectional method</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Introduction: Alexithymia has become a paradigm linking emotion to health and is considered a stable personality trait. It may affect health by encouraging harmful behaviors, but more significantly, it is seen as a hindrance to effective patient–clinician communication. As oral health is essential to overall health, dental neglect (DN) occurs at every stage of life for various reasons. It is critical to identify alexithymia in a dental context, as it deteriorates the relationship between the dentist and the patient, particularly when the individual neglects his/her oral health. Materials and Methods: The study was cross-sectional and involved adult participants aged 18 years or older. A questionnaire about their demographics, DN, and alexithymia was provided to 150 participants. They included a six-item Dental Neglect Scale (DNS) and a 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Results: There was a statistically significant relationship between DN and alexithymia among the study participants (P = 0.046). The mean DNS scores for males and females were 16.47 ± 2.10 and 16.44 ± 1.58, respectively. The mean TAS-20 scores were 50.90 ± 6.21 for males and 55.32 ± 7.12 for females. Conclusion: The significant association between DNS and alexithymia suggests that difficulty in emotional awareness may contribute to poorer oral health behaviors. The mean DNS with a slightly higher score in males contributes to a higher rate of DN. However, higher TAS-20 scores in females indicate greater alexithymic traits, which may influence their emotions and indirectly affect dental care practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Oral Research & Review is the property of Wolters Kluwer India Pvt Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=195473406
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.4103/jorr.jorr_74_25
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 5
        StartPage: 129
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Alexithymia
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Oral health
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Professional-patient communication
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychological tests
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cross-sectional method
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Association between dental neglect and alexithymia in individuals seeking dental care: A cross-sectional study.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Sindhusha, Banda Sri Deepti
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Srinivas, Ravoori
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Pachava, Srinivas
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 07
              Text: Jul-Dec2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 22494987
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 18
            – Type: issue
              Value: 2
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Journal of Oral Research & Review
              Type: main
ResultId 1