Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Qual Life Res DOI 10.1007/s11136-017-1558-9 Does the Sense of Coherence modiﬁes the relationship of oral clinical conditions and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life? Fernanda W. Machado 1 · Ana Paula Perroni 1 · Gustavo G. Nascimento 1,2 · Marília L. Goettems 3 · Noéli Boscato 4 Accepted: 15 March 2017 © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 even after adjustment for sociodemographic and clinical conditions. Conclusion SOC modiﬁes the eﬀect in the association between OHIP-14 scores and clinical conditions, and could be a protective factor in adverse conditions. Introduction The process of aging-related quality of life requires atten- tion due to aspects of the increase in life expectancy world- wide, and the chronic diseases that accompany the aging process. Aging is a physiological process in life; however, the literature reports that older people are more likely to experience health and mobility problems [1]. In fact, aging has been accompanied by deteriorate oral clinical condi- tions, including especially tooth loss and edentulism. Oral health has been considered a fundamental component of health and physical and mental well-being. It exists along a continuum inﬂuenced by the values and attitudes of indi- viduals and communities, and reﬂects the physiological, social, and psychological attributes that are essential to the quality of life (QoL). Furthermore, oral health is inﬂuenced by the individual’s changing experiences, perceptions, expectations, and ability to adapt to adverse circumstances [2]. Negative impacts of tooth loss on daily activities such as phonation, eating, and socializing are well documented. Thus, there is strong evidence that tooth loss is associated with impairment in Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) [3, 4]. Studies conducted on elderly popula- tions have shown that perception of OHRQoL is inﬂuenced by sociodemographic [5] and clinical factors [6]. How- ever, sociodemographic indicators, may not appropriately Abstract Purpose This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the association of demographic and clinical characteristics, Sense of Coherence (SOC), clinical conditions (number of teeth, and use of and need for dental prostheses), and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL); and if the SOC modiﬁes the relationship of clinical conditions and OHRQoL in a sample of elders. Methods Trained dentists assessed the participants’ oral health and conducted interviews (n = 110). Information on sociodemographic conditions (sex; age at time of data col- lection; educational level; household income), SOC, and OHRQoL were investigated. Clinical data included use of and need for dental prostheses; number of decayed, miss- ing, and ﬁlled teeth; and number of teeth (categorized by median). OHRQoL was measured using the Oral Health Impact Proﬁle (OHIP-14). Eﬀect modiﬁcation between SOC and each clinical oral condition on OHRQoL was tested in regression models. Results The ﬁndings of the present study showed that individuals with high SOC presented better OHRQoL, * Noéli Boscato noeliboscato@gmail.com; noeliboscato@ufpel.edu.br 1 Graduate Program in Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil 2 Section of Periodontology, Department of Dentistry and Oral Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark 3 Department of Social and Preventive Dentistry, Epidemiology Division, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil 4 Graduate Program in Dentistry, Prosthodontics Division, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Pelotas, Rua Gonçalves Chaves, 457, 2nd ﬂoor, Pelotas, RS 96015-560, Brazil