Two thirds of millennials and gen Z (65%) know more about their mental health than dental health, according to a new study.
Of those surveyed, two in 10 (19%) people in the 18-34 age group knew of any links between the two areas of health.
In age all categories, just 13% of participants felt they were better informed about their dental health than mental health. Around 12% knew that dental health was linked to panic attacks and 7% knew it was connected to bipolar disorder.
The majority of respondents (85%) did not think mental health was connected to the health of their teeth, tongue or gums.
Whole body health
The survey also assessed the participants’ understanding of the relationship between oral health and wider physical health. Only half (53%) of the respondents knew about the link between dental health and mouth cancer. Fewer participants were aware of the connection with other conditions such as diabetes (25%) and heart disease (14%).
Respondents were asked how long it had been since their last visit to the dentist. On average, it had been 21 months since their last dental check-up.
When informed of the impact of oral health on overall wellbeing, nearly eight in 10 (78%) said it changed their attitudes. Six in 10 (61%) pledged to take better care of their oral health going forward.
Nearly three quarters (73%) agreed that more needed to be done to spread awareness of the impact of oral hygiene on overall wellbeing. A further 67% said that the importance of oral health was underrepresented in the media. A similar percentage (63%) felt that schools could be a good place to instil better health habits in the British population.
‘The first line of defence’
These findings were collected as part of a survey of 2,000 UK adults by Bupa.
Neil Sikka is director of dentistry at Bupa Dental Care. He said: ‘This new research shows there is still a lot of work to be done to close the knowledge gap.
‘As dental professionals, it’s our responsibility to educate patients on the critical role that dental health plays in their overall health. We often serve as the first line of defence in detecting oral health conditions that could indicate early signs of systemic health issues like diabetes or heart disease.
‘It’s easy to overlook dental health or see it as purely cosmetic, but our whole body is connected.’
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