March 2017

Objective: To assess the relationship between sense of coherence (SOC) and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among children aged one to three years. Participants: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 276 mother-child pairs randomly selected from the city of Diamantina, Brazil. Method: Information was obtained on socio-demographic factors. The short version of Antonovsky’s sense of coherence scale (SOC 13) and the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) were administered. The children were examined for dental caries. Statistical analysis involved descriptive statistics, the calculation of Spearman’s correlation coefficients and adjusted Poisson regression models. Results: SOC was significantly associated with the child’s OHRQoL in the multivariate analysis. Children of mothers with high SOC (PR 0.96; 95%CI 0.93,0.98; p=0.045) had a lower prevalence of a negative impact on OHRQoL. Children with severe dental caries had a greater prevalence of a negative impact on OHRQoL (PR 2.53; 95%CI 1.77,3.62; p<0.001). Conclusions: Maternal SOC could be a psychosocial determinant of the OHRQoL of children aged one to three years. Severe dental caries was associated with poorer quality of life. Key words: sense of coherence, infant, oral health related quality of life