Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Oct 1;56(3):131-139.
eCollection 2022 Oct.

"Trans-forming" dental practice norms: Exploring transgender identity and oral health implications

Jessica Tamrat  1
Affiliations
Review

"Trans-forming" dental practice norms: Exploring transgender identity and oral health implications

Jessica Tamrat. Can J Dent Hyg. .

Abstract
in English, French

Objective: This narrative review explores current research to broaden understanding and awareness of the transgender experience while identifying oral health needs and proposing strategies of inclusivity to optimize oral health outcomes.

Methods: A comprehensive electronic literature search was conducted in the following online databases: PubMed, Google Scholar, CINAHL, and Education Source. The search yielded 35 articles with a wide range of study designs and methodologies.

Results & discussion: Several themes emerged from the literature, including psychosocial oral health implications, barriers to oral health care, inclusive dental practice strategies, and cultural competence of oral health providers.

Conclusion: The transgender population experiences many social and health disparities that stem from discrimination. Systemic inequalities, coupled with other barriers to care, have significant oral health implications for this population. Implementing inclusivity strategies and gaining awareness of the transgender experience will contribute to better oral health outcomes in this community.

Objectif: La présente analyse documentaire explore les recherches actuelles visant à élargir la compréhension et la sensibilisation à l’expérience transgenre tout en définissant les besoins en matière de santé buccodentaire et en proposant les stratégies d’inclusion pour optimiser les résultats de santé buccodentaire.

Méthodologie: Une recherche documentaire électronique exhaustive a été menée dans les bases de données en ligne suivantes : PubMed, Google Scholar, CINAHL et Education Source. Cette recherche a produit 35 articles ayant une vaste gamme de plans d’études et de méthodologies.

Résultats et discussion: Plusieurs thèmes sont ressortis de la littérature, y compris les implications psychosociales de la santé buccodentaire, les obstacles aux soins buccodentaires, les stratégies inclusives de pratique dentaire et la compétence culturelle des fournisseurs de soins buccodentaires.

Conclusion: La population transgenre connaît de nombreuses inégalités sociales et sanitaires qui relèvent de la discrimination. Les inégalités systémiques, combinées à d’autres obstacles aux soins, ont des répercussions importantes sur la santé buccodentaire de cette population. La mise en œuvre de stratégies d’inclusion et la prise de conscience de ce que vivent les transgenres contribueront à améliorer les résultats en matière de santé buccodentaire de cette communauté.

Keywords: discrimination; health care curricula; oral health barriers; oral health care providers; transgender; transgender dental health; transgender identity; transgender oral health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Logos and images representing the gender and sexual diversity of LGBTQ+ communities
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Recommendations by Entero Communications and the Canadian Standards Association Group for universal washroom signage in health care facilities
Figure 3a.
Figure 3a.
Gender-inclusive washroom signage at a) the University of British Columbia; b) the Vancouver Park Board; and c) the City of Kelowna-
Figure 3b
Figure 3b
Figure 3c
Figure 3c
None
None
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Manpreet K , Ajmal M , Raheel S , Saleem M , Mubeen K , Gaballah K , et al. Oral health status among transgender young adults: a cross-sectional study BMC Oral Health 2021 ; 21 ( 1 ): 1 – 6 Available from: bmcoralhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12903-021-01945-x - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Conard L , Schwartz S Supporting and caring for transgender and gender-expansive individuals in the dental practice J Dent Child (Chic) 2019 ; 86 ( 3 ): 173 – 179 Available from: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31645261/ - PubMed
    1. Macri D , Wolfe D My preferred pronoun is she: understanding transgender identity and oral health care needs Can J Dent Hyg 2019 ; 53 ( 2 ): 110 – 117 Available from: files.cdha.ca/profession/journal/2703.pdf - PMC - PubMed
    1. Macdonald DW , Grossoehme DH , Mazzola A , Pestian T , Schwartz SB “I just want to be treated like a normal person”: oral health care experiences of transgender adolescents and young adults J Am Dent Assoc 2019 ; 150 ( 9 ): 748 – 754 - PubMed
    1. MacKinlay-Byrne L Caring for the transgender patient Dimens Dent Hyg 2020 ; 18 ( 1 ): 40 – 43 Available from: dimensionsofdentalhygiene.com/article/caring-transgender-patients/

LinkOut - more resources