Sense of Coherence and Oral Health in Children and Adolescents: a Scoping Review.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to review the published studies that address the sense of coherence and its relationship with the oral health of children and adolescents.

METHODS

This scoping review was structured according to the review method proposed by the Joanna Brigs Institute and conducted in accordance with PRISMA-ScR guidelines. The research was carried out in the following databases: Medline/ Pubmed®, Lilacs®, Scopus©, Cochrane©, Web of Science©, and Embase©.

RESULTS

In this search, 358 studies were found, seven in Cochrane, 90 in PubMed®, three in Lilacs®, 101 in Web of Science©, 80 in Scopus©, and 77 in Embase©, totaling 24 publications. The studies were published in nine countries, most of them cross-sectional studies.

CONCLUSIONS

Most studies have shown that a high sense of coherence (SOC) of both the caregiver and the child/adolescent is related to better oral health behaviors and a lower caries index. No conclusive information was observed on the relationship between SOC and periodontal diseases.