12
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: not found

      Sense of coherence as a determinant of toothbrushing frequency and level of oral hygiene.

      Journal of periodontology
      Adult, Epidemiologic Methods, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Models, Psychological, Oral Hygiene, psychology, Socioeconomic Factors, Time Factors, Toothbrushing

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPubMed
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Antonovsky's salutogenic theory seeks to find general health-promoting factors in individuals as distinct from characteristics that function as risks for specific diseases. A central construct of the theory is sense of coherence (SOC). Individuals with a strong SOC have the ability to define events as less stressful (because of comprehensibility); to mobilize resources to deal with encountered stressors (manageability); and to possess the motivation, desire, and commitment to cope (meaningfulness). Our aim is to investigate whether SOC, self-reported toothbrushing frequency, and objectively assessed levels of oral hygiene are related. The sample of the present study consisted of 4,131 30- to 64-year-old dentate Finns belonging to a large nationally representative sample. The questionnaire and home interview included information about socioeconomic and demographic factors, behavioral variables, such as oral health behaviors (toothbrushing frequency), and a 12-item SOC scale, used here as a unidimensional measure categorized into quintiles. The level of oral hygiene was measured during clinical oral examination. Chi-square test, ordinal, and ordinary logistic regression analyses were used. Subjects belonging to the strongest SOC quintile were found to be significantly more often two, or more, times a day brushers compared to those with less strong SOC. After controlling for toothbrushing frequency, sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors, smoking habits, and number of teeth, both strong and moderate levels of SOCs were also found to be related to a good level of oral hygiene compared with moderate and poor levels of oral hygiene. Furthermore, subjects within the weakest SOC quintile were found to have significantly more often than others poor levels of oral hygiene. Our results suggest that a weak sense of coherence increases both the probability of having a poor level of oral hygiene and a frequency of toothbrushing of less than once a day. This and the theory concerning the development of SOC suggest that sense of coherence may be taken as a determinant of both the frequency and the quality of toothbrushing.

          Related collections

          Author and article information

          Journal
          15948698
          10.1902/jop.2005.76.6.1006

          Chemistry
          Adult,Epidemiologic Methods,Female,Humans,Male,Middle Aged,Models, Psychological,Oral Hygiene,psychology,Socioeconomic Factors,Time Factors,Toothbrushing

          Comments

          Comment on this article