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Updated: May 30, 2026

Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
The relationship between self-reported oral health, self-regulation, proactive coping, procrastination and proactive
A L Dumitrescu1, B C Dogaru, C D Dogaru
1Institute of Clinical Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway. alexandrina.l.dumitrescu@gmail.com
Objectives:
This cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between self-regulation, proactive coping, procrastination and proactive attitude, perceived oral health and self-reported oral-health behaviours.
Methods:
The study sample consisted of 198 first year medical students. The questionnaire included information about socio-demographic factors, behavioural variables, self-reported oral health status, proactive coping (proactive coping subscale of the Proactive Coping Inventory), procrastination (Procrastination Scale) and proactive attitude (Proactive Attitude Scale).
Results:
Significant differences were found on self-regulation, proactive coping, procrastination and proactive attitude scales between participants who rated their gingival condition as very good/excellent and those who evaluated it as being poor, very poor or normal (p < 0.05). Results revealed significant differences in procrastination level among individuals who never visit their dentist and those who visit their dentist for check-up or for tooth cleaning and scaling (p = 0.001) or when treatment is needed or when in pain (p < 0.05). In multiple linear regression analyses, proactive coping was associated with toothbrushing frequency and reason for dental visiting.
Conclusions:
The result suggested that procrastination and proactive coping are important determinants of perceived oral health and self-reported oral-health behaviours.
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