Dental disease and health behaviour: the development of an interactional model

This paper describes the development of an interactional model in which both the clinical and the socio-psychological aspects of dental disease and its prevention are considered. Clinical and social data were collected from two separate samples, and the interrelationships between antecedent, motivational and preventive health behaviour variables and their influences on each other and on dental health outcomes were measured by regression analyses. A complex pattern of significant interrelationships was revealed, in which direct and indirect influences on dental health and behaviour operated at different levels of intensity and in different combinations, sometimes reinforcing each other but sometimes in conflict. The model could have relevance to a multifactorial approach in health research and, by incorporating additional causal influences, it could be developed into a more effective analytical tool as well as an aid the promotion of dental health.