Impact of war stress on oral healt
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2025.78.58535Keywords
war, stress, oral health, millitary personnel, internally displaced people, chronic periodontitisAbstract
Wartime greatly elevate the frequency, intensity, and severity of oral health issues among military personnel. This research outlines the complex effects of combat on oral health. It was revealed a high prevalence of periodontal problems and varying levels of dental caries in those affected. The conditions of war significantly impact the rise and seriousness of oral diseases among professional soldiers and those who are internally displaced.
Aim. The research aims to determine the relationship between stress and oral health in individuals exposed to chronic stress in wartime.
Materials and methods. The study was conducted on 68 professional soldiers in the Ukraine Army and 42 internally displaced persons. The control group consisted of 39 patients. The study was based on clinical examination and a questionnaire.
Results. Notable variations exist between the groups in wartime and peacetime based on how often they brush their teeth daily and their diet. A group of soldiers had significantly poorer oral health than civilians. According to the plaque index, аmong the military, only 7.1% have good oral hygiene (plaque index 0.0), 53.6% have fair oral hygiene (plaque index 0.1-1.9), and 39.3% have bad oral hygiene (plaque index 2.0-3.0).
Conclusion. Participation in war and time spent on battlefields have had a significant influence on the increased prevalence and severity of periodontal disease, decay, and diet.
References
1. Committee on an Oral Health Initiative. Advancing oral health in America. National Academies Press; 2012 Jan 5.
2. Peres MA, Macpherson LM, Weyant RJ, Daly B, Venturelli R, Mathur MR, Listl S, Celeste RK, Guarnizo-Herreño CC, Kearns C, Benzian H. Oral diseases: a global public health challenge. The Lancet. 2019 Jul 20;394(10194):249-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)31146-8
3. Boitsaniuk SI, Levkiv MО, Fedoniuk LY, Kuzniak NB, Bambuliak AV. Acute herpetic stomatitis: clinical manifestations, diagnostics and treatment strategies. Wiad Lek. 2022 Jan 1;75(1 pt 2):318-23. https://doi.org/10.36740/WLek202201229
4. Domagała I, Przystupa K, Firlej M, Pieniak D, Gil L, Borucka A, Naworol I, Biedziak B, Levkiv M. Analysis of the statistical comparability of the hardness and wear of polymeric materials for orthodontic applications. Materials. 2021 May 28;14(11):2925. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14112925
5. Stetsyk AO, Jero NI. BRUXISM: CAUSES, DIAGNOSTIC METHODS AND TREATMENT. Молодий вчений. 2016:336.
6. Slavicek R, Sato S. Bruxism-a function of the masticatory organ to cope with stress. Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift (1946). 2004 Dec 1;154(23-24):584-9 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-004-0129-1
7. Tsai KZ, Tsai SC, Lin KH, Chang YC, Lin YP, Lin GM. Associations of decayed teeth and localized periodontitis with mental stress in young adults: CHIEF oral health study. Sci Rep. 2022;12(1):19139. Published 2022 Nov 9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-23958-4
8. Selwitz RH, Ismail AI, Pitts NB. Dental caries. Lancet. 2007;369(9555):51-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60031-2
9. Denefil O, Chorniy S, Boitsaniuk S, Manashchuk N, Chornij N, Levkiv M, Tverdokhlib N, Loza K. Analysis of microbiocenosis of a gingival sulcus and periodontal pockets of patients with periodontal diseases associated with systemic pathology. Exploration of Medicine. 2023 Dec 11;4(6):942-55. https://doi.org/10.37349/emed.2023.00186
10. Wisén N. Stress in military settings. Karolinska Institutet (Sweden); 2023.
11. Xu W, Pavlova I, Chen X, Petrytsa P, Graf-Vlachy L, Zhang SX. Mental health symptoms and coping strategies among Ukrainians during the Russia-Ukraine war in March 2022. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2023;69(4):957-966. https://doi.org/10.1177/00207640221143919
12. Lushchak O, Velykodna M, Bolman S, Strilbytska O, Berezovskyi V, Storey KB. Prevalence of stress, anxiety, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder among Ukrainians after the first year of Russian invasion: a nationwide cross-sectional study. Lancet Reg Health Eur. 2023;36:100773. Published 2023 Nov 6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100773
13. Bassani DG, Silva CM, Oppermann RV. Validity of the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs'(CPITN) for population periodontitis screening. Cadernos de saude publica. 2006;22:277-83.
14. Amaliya A, Pribadi S, Akbar YM, Sitam S. Periodontal disease: a rise in prevalence in military troops penyakit periodontal. Odonto: Dental Journal. 2021;8(1):6-17.
15. Denefil O, Chorniy S, Romanovych V, Levkiv M, Chornij N, Tverdokhlib N, Gryniuka I. Morphological changes of the hepatobiliary system and salivary glands under the influence of stress. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2023 Dec 21;48(1):186-96. https://doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2023.48.01.013
16. Palle AR, Tripathi R, Punj A, Vasudevan S, Abhinav A, Bommala M. An Evaluation of Occupational Stress and Periodontal Status Among Indian Army Male Personnel: A Cross-Sectional Study. Cureus. 2024 Jun 14;16(6):e62411. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.62411.
17. Puzyrov JV, Izvekov VV. Bojovyj stres ta jogo naslidky dlja vijs' kovosluzhbovciv [Combat stress and its consequences for military personnel]. Psyhologija nacional'noi'bezpeky ta bezpeky zhyttjedijal'nosti‒Psychology of national security and life safety, 34 1 (75), 205-209 [Internet]. 2023 https://doi.org/10.32782/2709-3093/2023.1/33
18. Gunepin M, Derache F, Trousselard M, Salsou B, Risso JJ. Impact of chronic stress on periodontal health. Journal of Oral Medicine and Oral Surgery. 2018 Jan 1;24(1):44-50. https://doi.org/10.1051/mbcb/2017028
19. Carnevale R, Sciarretta S, Violi F, Nocella C, Loffredo L, Perri L, Peruzzi M, Marullo AG, De Falco E, Chimenti I, Valenti V. Acute impact of tobacco vs electronic cigarette smoking on oxidative stress and vascular function. Chest. 2016 Sep 1;150(3):606-12 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2016.04.012
20. Sørensen LT, Toft BG, Rygaard J, Ladelund S, Paddon M, James T, Taylor R, Gottrup F. Effect of smoking, smoking cessation, and nicotine patch on wound dimension, vitamin C, and systemic markers of collagen metabolism. Surgery. 2010 Nov 1;148(5):982-90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surg.2010.02.005
21. Goyal S, Gupta G, Thomas B, Bhat KM, Bhat GS. Stress and periodontal disease: The link and logic!!. Industrial psychiatry journal. 2013 Jan 1;22(1):4-11. https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-6748.123585
22. Boitsaniuk S, Chorniy S, Manashchuk N, Chornij N, Pohoretska K, Patskan L, Levkiv M. Oral cavity health and remedy options to stimulate epithelization of oral mucosa. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2023 May 9;27(1):53-65. https://doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2023.27.01.005
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Svitlana Boitsaniuk, Mariana Levkiv, Marta Zaliznyak, Nadiia Manashchuk, Liudmyla Patskan, Khrystyna Pohoretska, Nataliia Chornii
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The periodical offers access to content in the Open Access system under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0
Stats
Number of views and downloads: 82
Number of citations: 0
