Evaluation of inter-relationship between behavioral inhibition, behavioral activation, avoidance, daily stressors and...

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the interrelationship between behavioral inhibition, behavioral activation, avoidance, oral health status and behaviour.

The present study sample consisted of213 first year dental students. The questionnaire included information about socio-demographic factors, behavioral variables and self-reported oral health status. The Cognitive-Behavioral Avoidance Scale (CBAS; Ottenbreit & Dobson, 2004), BIS/BAS Scale (Carver & White 1994) and DISE scale (Daily Inventory of Stressful Experiences; Almeida et al., 2002) were also used.

Self-reported oral health status significantly correlated with BIS (P < 0.05), BAS (P < 0.05) and DISE (P < 0.01). Satisfaction by appearance of own teeth and self-reported gingival condition were also correlated with BIS (P < 0.05, respectively P < 0.01) and DISE (P < 0.05, respectively P < 0.05). Participants with high BIS sensitivity reported more frequently to never use dental flossing than those with low BIS (P = 0.025), while the students with high BAS (Reward Responsiveness and Drive scales) scores showed lower frequency of never using mouthrinse (P = 0.043) and visited their dentist more frequently than those with low BAS scores. 12.5% of the individuals with high levels of avoidance have done last dental visit more than 2 years ago comparing with 6.9% of those with lower levels of avoidance. A high level of daily stressors was linked to an impaired dental health, insatisfaction by appearance of own teeth, toothache during last 3 months, impaired gingival condition and self-reported gum bleeding (P < 0.05).

. Our results have important implications for the focus and content of(preventive) oral health behaviour interventions, emphasizing on teaching patients strategies to counter their difficult behavioral patterns.