Sense of Coherence (SOC) and its Association with Dental Anxiety among Adolescents: A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Sense of coherence is a health generation theory, and also psychological factor. Dental anxiety is a common emotional reaction associated with dental care involving fear, anxiety, or stress related to dental settings. Paucity exists in the scientific literature on SOC an emerging area and its relation to dental anxiety.  Aim: This study aims to assess the association between SOC and dental anxiety n adolescents.  Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 332 healthy adolescents aged between 11-17years who were subjected to a self administered questionnaires which consisted of Antonovsky’s shorter version of SOC scale (SOC-13) and corah’s dental anxiety scale. And the data was statistically analyzed.  Conclusion: 82.80% of the study population presented with a moderate level of SOC and the mean SOC was 50.18±12.77. The prevalence of dental anxiety in the study population was 93.07%. A significant association was found between SOC and dental anxiety (p= 0.049). Our findings suggest that individuals with a stronger SOC may possess better coping mechanisms and a greater ability to manage stressful situations, including dental visits.