The role of illness beliefs and coping in the adjustment to dentine hypersensitivity

AimDentine hypersensitivity is a common oral health problem, however, there has been little research on how people cope with this condition. This study aimed to quantify the effects of illness beliefs and coping strategies on the health outcomes of individuals with dentine hypersensitivity. Materials and methodsParticipants were purposively sampled from students and staff in one large UK University and 101 self-diagnosed dentine hypersensitivity sufferers participated in the longitudinal study. Participants were required to complete questionnaires which assessed health anxiety, specific illness beliefs (control, consequences, illness coherence, timeline perspectives and emotional representations), coping strategies (passive and active coping) and oral health-related and health-related quality of life (OHRQoL and HRQoL) at baseline and 1month follow-up. ResultsOver half of the participants (N=56) experienced sensations in their teeth on a daily basis and the majority had experienced dentine hypersensitivity for at least 1year (N=87). Structural equation modelling indicated that predictors of OHRQoL and HRQoL impacts at follow-up were frequency of sensations, low levels of illness coherence, negative emotional representations, greater health anxiety and use of passive coping strategies at baseline. ConclusionsIllness beliefs and coping strategies predict oral and health-related quality of life outcomes in people with dentine hypersensitivity.