Relationship Between Mother's Sense of Coherence and Oral Health of Babies aged 6-36 Months: A Pilot Study

Objective: To evaluate the association between oral health of babies aged 6-36 months and the Mother's Sense of Coherence (SOC). Material and Methods: A cross-sectional pilot study was conducted in the city of Diamantina -MG with a convenience sample of 32 mothers and their babies, attended at the Dental Clinic for Babies at the Federal University of the Vales do Jequitinhonha and Mucuri. The survey included the filling of dental records of babies, a questionnaire given to the mothers about sociodemographic and oral hygiene of their babies, and self-administered SOC-13. Babies were submitted to a clinical intra-oral examination for the detection of dental caries and initial lesions according to World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Data were analyzed by the t test and Pearson's correlation (p<0.05). The size effect calculation proposed by Cohen was used to test the clinical significance of results. Results: The prevalence of dental caries was 40.0%. Maternal SOC had a variation between 35 and 59, with mean score of 47.7 (SD = 6.09). The monthly family income was more than two minimum wages for 51.6% of families. There was no statistically significant association between dental caries and maternal SOC (p = 0.646). Regarding monthly family income, there was a statistically significant association with maternal SOC (p = 0.005). Maternal SOC was also significantly associated with nocturnal oral hygiene of babies (p = 0.008). Conclusion: The mother's sense of coherence was not associated with dental caries and was associated with nocturnal oral hygiene of babies and with family monthly income.