title: Self-efficacy perceptions in oral health behavior.
abstract: The aim of this paper is to describe and understand people's views on dental self-efficacy and its formation. The qualitative data were collected by means of focused interviews with five patients selected on the basis of poor orientation to dental-care matters, measured using test scores from a previous questionnaire. The first stage of the analysis is a description of the background of the subjects from their own accounts; two proved to have internalized preventive dental beliefs and behavior deeply while two others had traumatic experiences as a reason for irregular dental appointments. One subject with poor oral health behavior seemed to have limited preventive action to his yearly dental appointment. The second stage of the analysis focuses on interpretation of the subjects' perception of self-efficacy and related comments. Among sources of self-efficacy that prove important in dental care are the cognitive, experiential, supportive and emotional dimensions, and beliefs and values learned in the family and at school. This qualitative research increases our understanding of the oral health behavior of patients and emphasizes the importance of patient-centered oral health education.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Institute of Dentistry, University of Oulu, Finland. Anna-Maija.Syrjala@oulu.fi
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Syrjälä
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Knuuttila
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Syrjälä
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003071:Cognition; D004245:DMF Index; D003729:Dental Care / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006267:Health Education, Dental; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009909:Oral Health; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D009911:Oral Hygiene Index; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010512:Periodontal Index; D012648:Self Care; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012944:Social Support; D012945:Social Values; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires