Serious psychological distress as a barrier to dental care in community-dwelling adults in the United States.

SPD was a modest independent risk factor for lack of subsequent preventive dental care, greater unmet dental needs, and greater dental expenditures. In addition to expanding adult dental coverage, it is important to develop and evaluate interventions to increase the utilization of dental care particularly preventive dental services among people with mental illness in order to improve oral health and reduce dental expenditures among this vulnerable population.