Association Between Sociodemographic Factors, Personality, and Oral Habits (Tooth Brushing and Smoking) in Spanish Adults

Resum

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to describe personality traits of a sample of Spanish adults, identify the main sociodemographic factors related to personality, and assess the influence of these traits on healthy dental habits. Materials and Methods: A crosssectional design was used with 235 subjects, all of Spanish nationality and aged between 18 and 80 years, with a minimum educational level (ie, they had completed only the minimum obligatory schooling), ensuring that none of the subjects had any psychologic disturbance. The data on five personality dimensions were recorded. Sociodemographic and behavioral standard scores (z) were studied for each personality dimension, and the scores were related to the other variables studied. Results: A significant linear correlation was observed between the z scores of the personality factors and the sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics. The men had personalities with significantly less neuroticism, less openness, less agreeableness, and less conscientiousness than the women. In behavioral terms, those who brushed more than once a day were more agreeable (0.1 ± 0.9) than those who only brushed once a day (−0.2 ± 1.2), and smokers had higher mean scores for extroversion (0.3 ± 0.9) than did nonsmokers (−0.1 ± 1.0). Conclusion: The most developed personality traits in this sample, as in the reference population, were conscientiousness (123.1 ± 22.9 points) and agreeableness (119.2 ± 19.1 points). The main sociodemographic factors of personality were found to be age and sex. Moreover, it was observed that certain personality dimensions were linked to smoking and tooth brushing habits.