[Severity and vulnerability perceived with respect to bucco-dental diseases]

Adoption of health practices is a major problem for health educators. Some behavioral causes are now determined in a lot of diseases. For example, it appears that sugar consumption is related to decayed teeth. The adoption of preventive health behavior is linked first to individual motivation. This motivation seems to be subject to the perceived threat of disease "X", which is determined by: perceived susceptibility to disease "X", perceived seriousness (severity) of disease "X". In the presence of some modifying factors, the perceived threat leads to the adoption of preventive health practices. We have studied, in a sample of dentists faced with a sample of young mothers, the perceived susceptibility to dental diseases and the perceived severity of dental diseases. It appears that dental diseases are perceived as health problems in any group, but with a moderate severity. This moderate severity can be explained by a lot of causes and is determined by the level of threat. This level of threat is in relation to the likelihood of action. We have also measured the perception by dentists of the perceived causes, severity and susceptibility in dental disease reported by the patients. Some differences are significant and influence the educational climate of the "dentist-patient" relationship. Maybe the dentists are not sufficiently aware of these differences in their educational function?