Sense of coherence and impact of oral health on quality of life in adults and elderly in Southern Brazil.

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the association between the Sense of Coherence and impact of oral health on the quality of life. Was conducted with a sample of 720 individuals of both sexes, between the ages of 50 and 74 years, selected through multistage proportional random sampling. The data collection instruments used were: short version of the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-13), Oral Impacts on Daily Performances (OIDP) questionnaire, oral clinical examination and questionnaire containing socio demographic and use of dental services information. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed through Poisson regression adjusted for robust variance, with level of significance p < 0.05. Oral impacts were reported by 416 participants (57.8%). In the adjusted model, those with strong SOC were more likely of not having any impact when compared with individuals with weak SOC (PR=1.30). Need for dental prosthesis was also associated with the outcome, individuals who did not require prosthesis had less impact (PR=1.50). The findings showed that SOC is associated with OIDP, supporting the hypothesis that individuals with strong SOC present a lower impact of oral health on the quality of life, suggesting that SOC is a determinant that can provide protection against that impact.