The relationship between Sense of Coherence and toothbrushing behaviours in Iranian adolescents in Mashhad

Abstract

AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the association between Sense of Coherence (SOC) and toothbrushing behaviours in Iranian adolescents in Mashhad. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A representative stratified random sample of 1054 grade 6 Iranian students, living in Mashhad, answered a 37-item questionnaire with questions on socio-demographic characteristics, frequency of toothbrushing behaviours and Antonovsky's 13-item SOC scale. Binary logistic regression was used to test the association between SOC and toothbrushing behaviours. RESULTS: Higher SOC scores were significantly associated with more frequent toothbrushing behaviours (p=0.01). This positive association remained significant after adjusting for sex and father's education level (p=0.01). When testing this association for the boys and girls separately, the association was significant only for girls (p=0.02). However, the interaction between sex and SOC was not significant (p=0.56). The association between toothbrushing and sex remained significant after adjusting for SOC (p<0.001). Boys had a significantly stronger SOC than girls (p=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: SOC was associated with toothbrushing frequency in Iranian adolescents in Mashhad. SOC did not fully explain the sex difference in toothbrushing behaviours.