Psychosocial, behavioural and oral health indicators--review of the literature.

The paper provides a literature review focused on the current methodological approach to psychosocial and behavioural factors (socioeconomic and demographic status, education level, health-related attitudes, risk behaviour, stress, oral health and quality of life) and oral-health indicators (DMFT--Decayed, Missing and Filled teeth; CPI--Community Periodontal Index, proportion of edentulous subjects, proportion of subjects in need for dental treatment and SiC Index--Significant Caries Index). The selected factors are recognized as additional factors associated with oral health and a detailed investigation thereof represents a novel approach to the prevention of dental caries and periodontal diseases. The paper also specifies the type of research that is needed in this branch of the preventive dentistry.