Oral Hygiene - A Challenge in Everyday Life for People with Schizophrenia

The aim of the study is to explore how adults with schizophrenia describe their lived experiences with oral hygiene. 23 adults with schizophrenia were interviewed within a period of four months in late 2015. Transcriptions of the interviews were analysed using the Reflective Lifeworld Research phenomenological approach of Dahlberg, Dahlberg, and Nyström. The essence of the phenomenon, oral hygiene, is described as a challenge: a mixture of ability and assigning priority; a challenge in which significant others, for better or worse, play an important role. We recommend a systematic cooperation between health care professionals and adults with schizophrenia in order to improve oral health, well-being and recovery.