title: Relationship between mothers' sense of coherence and oral health status of preschool children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between mothers' sense of coherence (SOC) and oral health status in a representative sample of 5-year-old preschool children.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted in Belo Horizonte (Brazil) on a sample of 546 mothers and their 5-year-old children, randomly selected from preschools. Data were collected through questionnaires (mothers), the short version of Antonovsky's SOC scale (SOC-13) and clinical dental examinations (children). Simple and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed on the data. The following 8 outcome variables were selected: dental caries, filled and missing teeth, dental pulp exposure due to caries, dental root fragment, visible plaque, gingivitis and supragingival calculus. The examination was carried out by 2 trained, calibrated examiners.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mothers with a lower SOC were more likely to have children with decayed teeth (OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.01-2.29), dental pulp exposure (OR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.06-3.77) or filled teeth (OR = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.12-3.06) regardless of the child's social class and gender.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The data indicate that mothers' SOC is an important psychosocial determinant of the oral health status among preschool children.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Dentistry, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bonanato
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Paiva
authors.forename: I A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Pordeus
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Ramos-Jorge
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Barbabela
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Allison