Mental Health Awareness Week 2025

In 2024 Bupa researched how much people in the UK really know about the ways dental health connects with their overall physical and mental wellbeing. And it was surprising to see people knew very little, especially when it comes to mental health. 85% of respondents did not think mental health problems have anything to do with the health of their teeth, tongue or gums and drilling deeper, only 12% knew it is connected to panic attacks while just 7% understood the links to bipolar disorder.¹

With Mental Health Awareness Week 2024 fast approaching we wanted to highlight the connection between dental health and mental health.

How can our Mental Health impact our Oral Health?

Several common mental illnesses can negatively affect a person's oral health, including anxiety and panic attacks, depression, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, self-harm, schizophrenia, and psychosis.

Key Issues for Those Suffering from Mental Illness:

• Neglect: Research indicates that individuals with mental illnesses often avoid dental care, leading to neglected oral hygiene. This can result in gum disease and tooth decay.
• Anxiety: Dental phobia is prevalent among many people, causing them to avoid regular dental visits. Infrequent dental check-ups can severely impact oral health.
• Eating Disorders: Conditions like bulimia can cause dental erosion due to the acidity in vomit. Additionally, low calcium levels are common, affecting tooth health.
• Brushing Actions: Over-vigorous brushing by individuals with bipolar disorder or similar conditions can wear away the enamel on teeth.
• Medication: Certain medications can produce adverse oral effects, such as dry mouth, due to reduced saliva flow.

How Does This Affect My Business?

When employees experience poor mental health, it can impact your business in several ways:

• Stress or Burnout: Increased stress levels or burnout within your workforce.
• Low Productivity: Teams may struggle with low productivity, making it difficult to meet targets.
• High Turnover Rate: Increased employee turnover.
• Sick Leave: Higher occurrences of sick leave.

At Bupa, we understand the close link between mental health and oral health and the importance of supporting your employees in both areas.

Support and Resources

Explore all the support and resources available through Bupa below and share them with your employees.

Oral health and mental health information and support

The effects of mental health on oral health (PDF, 2.1MB)

Dental anxiety information and support

What to expect when visiting the dentist

How can I manage my fear of the dentist?

Dental Anxiety Guide (PDF, 0.2MB)

Mental health and stress information and support

For your line-managers

Mental health managers guide | Workplace wellbeing | Bupa UK

Helping shy and socially anxious colleagues at work (PDF, 1.2MB)

Talking About Suicide And Support At Work (PDF, 1.2MB)

For your employees

[Video] 10 tips for managing stress

How do I manage anxiety at work?

How does sleep affect my mental health?

How to deal with feeling lonely

Sources

1. Bupa internal data. Dental knowledge gap costing UK businesses thousands, shows Bupa research

Natalie Asmussen, dentally.org (2023) Mental health and oral health: What you need to know. Available at: https://www.dentaly.org/us/mental-oral-health/ (Accessed: 16 April 2025)

Berkeley ExecEd (2024) The Impacts of Poor Mental Health in Business. Available at: https://executive.berkeley.edu/thought-leadership/blog/impacts-poor-mental-health-business#:~:text=The%20impact%20of%20poor%20mental%20health%20in%20the,4%20Evidence%20of%20stress%20or%20burnout%20in%20employees (Accessed: 16 April 2025)

Oral Health Foundation. Mental illness and oral health - Oral Health Foundation (Accessed: 16 April 2025)