Tabriz University of Medical Sciences Medical Journal of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences 2783-2031 43 1 2021 04 17 The comparison of oral health and xerostomia between hospitalized patients with schizophrenia and normal individuals 7 15 10.34172/mj.2021.021 EN Ali Ebrahimi https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1643-6346 Ali Reza Shafiee-Kandjani https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3045-2644 Marziyeh Aghazadeh https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8278-7825 Hossein Eslami https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2843-3548 Behzad Shalchi https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5918-2919 Yasaman Shafiei https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6433-7196 Journal Article 10.34172/mj.2021.021 2020 06 29 2020 09 14 Background: Schizophrenia is a psychiatric illness characterized by negative symptoms (apathy, social withdrawal, lack of motivation) and cognitive deficits, while impairment in self-care, grooming, and oral health is also noted. This study aimed to evaluate oral health status and xerostomia among hospitalized patients in Razi Hospital in Tabriz, Iran during 2019. Methods: In this descriptive-analytic study, a total of 80 people (equal genders) including 40 hospitalized patients with schizophrenia and 40 healthy matched controls were recruited conveniently from among non-psychiatric outpatient poly-clinic referrals. Oral health status was measured by decayed, missing, and filled permanent teeth (DMFT) index and xerostomia index. Data were analyzed through SPSS version 25 by student's t-test, chi-square, Pearson, and Spearman correlation tests. P-values under 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: In both groups, 75% out of males were smokers. The mean DMFT in the cases was significantly greater than the controls (P=0.02). There was no difference between genders in both groups. The means of xerostomia indices were significantly higher in the case group. (t=3.47, P=0.001). Conclusion: Based on cognitive deficits and negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia, oral hygiene is considerably lower than normal populations. This is a great hint for policy-makers, clinicians, healthcare professionals, and family members to emphasize on prevention of oral and dental lesions among afflicted patients.