The relationship between oral health and anxiety/depression were assessed in a cross-sectional study conducted in 388 Portuguese students from the Health Sciences (age: 21 +/- 3 years, 75% women). Oral health included prevalence of reported tooth pain/gum bleeding, dentist attendance, and dentifrice and dental floss use. Anxiety and depression were assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Subjects with anxiety or depression had a higher frequency of perceived gum bleeding and reported a higher dentist attendance than normal subjects. On multivariate analysis, anxiety was significantly and independently related to perceived toothache (OR = 2.90, 95% CI: 1.25-6.72) and dentist attendance (OR = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.18 - 3.91) whereas depression was associated with perceived gum bleeding (OR = 4.96, 95% CI: 1.68 - 14.59), and no differences were found regarding teeth brushing or dental flossing. The author concludes that anxiety and depression are related to perceived toothache and gum bleeding, but this association cannot be explained by decreased dental care.