Objectives: Research are suggested studying the complex causal processes to understand and explain people’s behaviour and actions in their living context, which both can be promoting or unfavourable for oral health. A way to measure health related behaviour is with sense of coherence (SOC), which estimate a person’s degree of an inside strength and attitude to the world around, and by that maintaining health. A person with high level of SOC have been seen to have an adaptive health behaviour. The aim was to investigate a person’s ability to maintaining health, in terms of Sense of coherence in relation to oral health. Method: A stratified random sample of 910 individuals from Jönkping, Sweden, aged 20,30,40,50,60,70 and 80 years old, was used. The investigation contained the Swedish short version of The orientation to life questionnaire (SOC) with 13-items and a self-reported questionnaire about demographic information, oral health related behaviour and attitudes to oral health. These questionnaires were distributed in addition to the clinical and radiographical examination. Results: A total of 525 individuals participated in the study, 261 men and 264 women. Mean SOC scores increased with age, and the youngest group (20-year-olds) had a significantly lower SOC score compared to the other age groups. Bivariate results showed that individuals with higher SOC scores had statistically significant relationships with oral clinical status such as more decayed filled surfaces (DFS), less caries severity, less teeth with calculus and a higher degree of periodontal health. SOC was also significantly associated with gingivitis and dental plaque, after controlling for socioeconomic and demographic factors. Conclusions: Younger individuals had lower SOC scores compared to elderly individuals. Some statistical associations were found between SOC scores and oral health with regard to several important oral clinical variables and higher SOC scores may indicate a protective determinant for gingivitis and plaque.