Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Links between oral health and personality at a law enforcement school

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Central European Journal of Medicine

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.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  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

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Dumitrescu A.L., Psychological perspectives on the pathogenesis of periodontal disease, Rom J Intern Med, 2006, 44, 241–260

    PubMed  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

    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

    Article  CAS  PubMed  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

    CAS  PubMed  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

    Article  CAS  PubMed  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

    Article  CAS  PubMed  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

    Article  CAS  PubMed  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

    Article  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

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. World Health Organization: Oral Health Surveys: Basic methods, WHO, Geneva 1997

  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

    CAS  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

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  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

    CAS  PubMed  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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  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

    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

    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

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Lencová E., Broukal Z., Dusková J., Psychosocial, behavioural and oral health indicators — review of the literature, Prague Med Rep, 2006, 107, 305–316

    PubMed  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

    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

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Hopcraft M.S., Morgan M.V., Dental caries experience in a young adult military population, Aus Dent J, 2003, 48, 125–129

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  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

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Miskolc Law Enforcement Secondary School, Szentpétery Gate 78., 3526, Miskolc, Hungary

    Ildikó Faragó

  2. Department of Behavioral Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Nagyvarad Square 4., 1089, Budapest, Hungary

    Ferenc Túry

  3. Department of Sociology and Social Policy, Faculty of Arts, University of Debrecen, Egyetem Square 1., 4032, Debrecen, Hungary

    Sándor Márton

  4. Department of Community Dentistry, Section of Oral Diagnostics, Faculty of Dentistry, Semmelweis, University Szentkirályi Street 40., 1088, Budapest, Hungary

    Gábor Nagy

  5. Melbourne Dental School, The University of Melbourne, Swanston Street 720., Melbourne, Australia

    Matthew Hopcraft

  6. Department of Paedodontics and Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Semmelweis University, Szentkirályi Street 47., Budapest, Hungary

    Melinda Madléna

Authors
  1. Ildikó Faragó
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ferenc Túry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sándor Márton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Gábor Nagy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Matthew Hopcraft
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Melinda Madléna
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Melinda Madléna.

About this article

Cite this article

Faragó, I., Túry, F., Márton, S. et al. Links between oral health and personality at a law enforcement school. cent.eur.j.med 9, 86–91 (2014). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11536-013-0251-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11536-013-0251-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation