Psychosocial Factors and Oral Health Outcomes

Psychosocial factors encompass stress, mood disorders, social support, health-related behaviours and socioeconomic conditions that jointly influence oral health across the life course. Chronic psychological stress and depression can disrupt routine oral hygiene and dietary habits, precipitating caries, periodontal disease and tooth loss. Stress-associated hormones such as cortisol alter the oral microbiome, favouring dysbiotic communities that drive periodontal inflammation. Depression often leads to neglect of dental care, poor nutrient intake and reduced motivation for self-care, further exacerbating oral pathology and diminishing quality of life. Conversely, deteriorating oral health may heighten social anxiety, impede communication and erode self-esteem, perpetuating a bidirectional cycle of disease and distress. Integrative approaches that combine psychological assessment with dental interventions, promote nutritional diversity and incorporate stress-management strategies offer the potential to improve both oral and mental health outcomes on a global scale.

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Psychosocial Factors and Oral Health Outcomes publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in psychosocial factors and oral health outcomes across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Psychosocial factors: psychological and social influences, including stress, mood and social support, that affect health behaviours and outcomes.

Periodontitis: chronic inflammatory disease of the supporting structures of the teeth, leading to tissue destruction and potential tooth loss.

Salivary cortisol: measurement of cortisol in saliva reflecting stress-related activity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis.

Dietary diversity: extent of variety in consumption across different food groups, indicative of nutritional adequacy and wellbeing.

Oral health-related quality of life: subjective assessment of how oral health impacts comfort, function, self-esteem and social participation.

Microbiome dysbiosis: imbalance in the composition or function of microbial communities implicated in disease processes within the oral cavity.

References

1. The effect of the stress hormone cortisol on the metatranscriptome of the oral microbiome. npj Biofilms and Microbiomes (2018).
2. Association between Oral Health and Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Older Adults: The Mediating Role of Dietary Diversity. Nutrients (2024).
3. Salivary cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone, and chromogranin A levels in patients with gingivitis and periodontitis and a novel biomarker for psychological stress. Frontiers in Endocrinology (2023).
4. Oral health-related quality of life, probable depression and probable anxiety: evidence from a representative survey in Germany. BMC Oral Health (2022).