Association of Personality Traits with Oral Health Status: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background-Gingivitis is inflammation of gingival. The most common cause of gingivitis is poor oral hygiene. Personality is the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual’s distinctive character. The oral health of the people may be affected by different personality characters. .The aim of the study was to assess the impact of the personality traits on oral hygiene performance and gingival health in dental OPD patients. Objectives-To assess the relationship between different personality traits with oral hygiene index score, gingival index score, plaque index score, oral hygiene practice, other habits, dental visits, income groups, education. Materials and Methods- In total 620 subjects of Department of Periodontlogy from Swargiya Dadasaheb Kalmegh Smruti dental College and Hospital, Nagpur India were selected for the study. The personality characters were assessed by using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised Short-form (EPQRS). Based on this questionnaire, the subjects were divided in to three subgroups Extroversion, Neuroticism and Psychoticism. Result-It was found that Simplified Oral Hygiene Index, Plaque Index Gingival Index was more in person with neuroticism type of personality. Conclusion -The findings of the present study suggested that there exist no co relation between various personality traits and associated oral health status. However further trials should be conducted in future to validate the present findings.