Barn och unga som vårdas inom SiS har samma rätt till bästa möjliga hälsa, inklusive en god munhälsa, som andra jämnåriga. Dock har det saknats studier som undersökt munhälsan hos barn och ungdomar placerade på SiS och hur ansvariga verksamheter ser till att deras eventuella vårdbehov blir tillgodosedda.

Syftet med studien som presenteras i denna rapport var att öka kunskapen om munhälsan hos unga placerade på SiS och hanteringen av konstaterade vårdbehov. Forskarna ville också undersöka de ungas uppfattningar om munhälsa och stöd före och under placering. Studien genomfördes på två ungdomshem där data samlades in genom klinisk undersökning samt intervjuer med 107 respektive 23 unga. Det utfördes även en enkätundersökning där ytterligare ett ungdomshem deltog. Utöver detta har forskarna via bland annat journaler undersökt i vilken grad de unga fått den behandling som de remitterats till.

Resultaten visar att de unga på SiS institutioner lider av omfattande munhälsoproblem och att det råder stora brister i vårdkedjan. Rapporten mynnar ut i flera implikationer för ungdomshem, socialtjänst, region, nationella organisationer, myndigheter och lagstiftande politiker.

ObjectiveThis pilot study aimed to explore knowledge, attitudes and confidence levels of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) before and after case-based education among dental hygiene students. Moreover, to give an international perspective, this study included students from the US and Scandinavia.MethodsA longitudinal multicentre study assessed dental hygiene students' OSA knowledge, attitudes and confidence through a case-based education model. Students from six dental hygiene programmes in the US, Norway and Sweden participated from 2021 to 2022. The intervention group (N = 89) received preview material, live synchronous OSA lecture, case-based screening of fictitious patients and clinical practice using the STOP-Bang screening tool. Controls (N = 70) followed the standard curriculum. The Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Knowledge and Attitudes (OSAKA) questionnaire, comprising 18 knowledge and five attitude/confidence questions, was used. Reliability was assessed and nonparametric tests determined OSAKA knowledge score differences among the baseline, 6 months and 12 months intervals.ResultsThe intervention increased OSA knowledge with the largest increase in proportions of correct responses occurring between the baseline and 6 months and all single items showing a higher proportion of correct answers at 12 months compared to the baseline. Students' attitudes regarding the importance of OSAKA and confidence in managing patients increased from the baseline to both 6 months and 12 months.ConclusionThe case based educational intervention increased OSA knowledge and improved attitudes and confidence among dental hygiene students. The results also determined that the OSAKA questionnaire can be used in a setting with dental hygiene students to provide an overview of their knowledge, attitudes and confidence toward OSA. Current sleep medicine education in dental hygiene programmes is limited, suggesting the need for enhanced and sustained educational interventions to address this knowledge gap.

Background Due to organizational structures, there is a gap between psychiatric and dental care services that limits collaboration and knowledge sharing, and this can have a negative impact on patients’ oral health or general health and vice versa. To facilitate the integration between dentistry and psychiatry, more insight and knowledge is needed on psychiatric staffs’ work with patients’ oral health. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the experiences of psychiatric staff regarding patients’ oral health and meeting their oral health needs. Methods Using a semi‑structured guide, staff (n = 13) in Swedish psychiatric and forensic settings and in municipal housing support services were interviewed about their experiences with patient oral health. The interviews took place between April 2022 and June 2023. The data were analysed with inductive qualitative content analysis. Results This study identified challenges such as organizational issues, complex administrations, and a lack of tools for integrating oral health into psychiatric care. The patients perceived to face daily health‑related challenges, and the informants identified opportunities to include oral health into tools for health promotion and the facilitation of healthy lifestyle changes. Conclusion Psychiatric staff possess central knowledge and insight into the life situations of patients with severe mental illness, and psychiatric staff consider dental staff to be key partners. Collaboration between psychiatric and dental staff is essential for developing strategies to integrate oral health perspectives into current screening and psychopedagogical models and practices.

Introduction Oral health is multi-faceted and influences a person’s daily life, and numerous potential barriers andfactors can challenge and pose barriers to good oral health. Shortages of healthcare professionals or incorrect carepractices can be barriers to performing good oral healthcare. A knowledge gap has been identified in qualitativeresearch on description of healthcare professionals’ experiences of oral healthcare among older adults in municipalhealthcare.Aim To describe healthcare professionals’ experiences of oral healthcare among older adults in Swedish municipalhealthcare.Design and methods The study employed a qualitative design guided by a secondary qualitative analysis methodcomprising inductive qualitative content analysis. Data were collected through semi-structured individual interviewswith healthcare professionals.Results Good relationships and mutual trust create the conditions for delivering good oral healthcare. Knowledgeprovides confidence and trust in performing oral healthcare, experiences and strategies influence the individualadaptation of oral healthcare, and priorities and collaboration influence oral healthcare provision.Conclusion and implications The performance of oral healthcare is complex and cannot be achieved withoutestablishing a relationship with the older adult who needs care. Oral healthcare includes prerequisites such asroutines, sufficient time, work-time planning, and collaboration between healthcare professionals. Registered nursespositively experience opportunities to collaborate with other healthcare professionals regarding oral healthcare andare seen as leaders in the Fundamentals of Care and are sharing good examples of oral healthcare in palliative care

Oral dryness is common in persons with untreated obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) as well as in those using positive airway pressure (PAP). OSA with or without PAP treatment could therefore be a risk factor of dental caries. Objectives: To describe and compare the prevalence of dental caries among persons with or without PAP-treated OSA. Methods: Cross-sectional data derived from a clinical examination of 121 adults without OSA, and with or without long-time experience of PAP treated OSA (> 10 years) were used. The participants responded to a questionnaire and were clinically and radiographically examined. Decayed, missing, and filled teeth, decayed surfaces, gingivitis and presence of dental plaque were registered. Descriptive analyses were performed to describe dental caries prevalence among groups. To compare groups, one-way ANOVA and Kruskal–Wallis tests was conducted. Results: Participants (52% females, mean age 69.5 ± 5.8 years) were categorised into groups based on OSA status; non-OSA (n = 49), non-PAP-treated OSA (n = 38), and PAP-treated OSA (n = 34). Dental caries prevalence showed no statistically significant differences among groups, except for occlusal caries, where the PAP-treated OSA group had a higher mean compared to the non-OSA group (p = 0.033). Most participants did not report xerostomia, but the highest prevalence was found in the non-PAP-treated OSA group (31.6%). Conclusions: The prevalence of dental caries was slightly higher in persons with PAP treated OSA compared to non-PAP-treated OSA and persons without OSA, but the results were not statistically significant. 

Objectives: To investigate the association between the individuals’ level of sense of coherence (SOC) and periodontal disease severity. Methods: The study populations originated from two stratified cross-sectional random samples of residents in a medium-sized Swedish city in 2003 and 2013, respectively. The final samples constituted 491 individuals in 2003 and 538 individuals in 2013. The samples were classified into three groups according to the severity of periodontitis (no/minor, moderate and severe). The 13-item Swedish version of Antonovsky’s “Orientation to life” questionnaire, measuring the individual’s SOC, was filled out. Descriptive statistics were performed as well as multinomial logistic regression analysis. Dependent variable was the severity of periodontal disease and independent variables, age in years, presently smoking and education at university level. Results: In the multinomial regression analysis, smoking, age, and total SOC score were significantly associated with severe periodontitis at both examinations. The strongest predictor of severe periodontal disease was smoking. The total SOC score did not differ between the examinations, but there was a statistically significant difference in two of the SOC dimensions, manageability (lower), and comprehensibility (higher), over time. Conclusions: Individuals with severe periodontitis had significantly lower SOC compared to subjects periodontally having no/minor periodontal disease. Smoking was the strongest overall predictor of having severe periodontitis. 

Oral health care is essential, and digital training may influence healthcare professionals' attitudes to and knowledge of oral health. The aim, therefore, was to evaluate the impact on attitudes to and knowledge of oral health after using a digital training module among Swedish healthcare professionals working within a municipality-run healthcare service for older adults. A secondary aim was to explore the healthcare professionals' experiences of using the digital module. The study comprised a survey of healthcare professionals (registered nurses (RNs), assistant nurses, and care assistants) caring for older adults in a municipality in Sweden. Pre-post-tests were conducted to evaluate the outcomes for attitudes to and knowledge of oral health and of their experiences of completing the digital training module in oral health. These were statistically explored by comparing differences between the pre-post-tests, while the open-ended questions were analysed with qualitative content analysis. The findings of this study indicate that healthcare professionals had similar perceptions of their attitudes to and knowledge of oral health both before and after the digital training module in oral health. The study also indicates that healthcare professionals experienced that it is easier to perform practical oral health care after completing the digital training. The results also show that healthcare professionals value oral health knowledge and that the digital training module was easy to use and to disseminate knowledge throughout the municipality. The findings have implications for developing, implementing, and promoting healthcare professionals' attitudes to and knowledge of oral health and in using a digital training module in combination with practical exercises in oral health in municipality health care.

Background Oral diseases have been associated with cardiovascular diseases, and persons with continuous positiveairway pressure [CPAP]-treated obstructive sleep apnoea [OSA] have an increased risk for negative consequences forboth oral and general health. CPAP treatment is often life-long and adherence to treatment is essential. Xerostomiais a common side-effect which can lead to treatment abandonment. Oral health is a changeable part of our generalhealth and well-being and exploring the views of oral health determinants from persons with experience of CPAP-treatment is important to prevent adverse oral health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to explore whatpersons with experience of CPAP-treated OSA view as determinants for their oral health. Methods Eighteen persons with long-term experience of CPAP-treated OSA were purposively selected. Data werecollected by semi-structured individual interviews. A code book based on the World Dental Federation’s [FDI] theo-retical framework for oral health was developed and used to analyse the data using directed content analysis. Thedomains in the framework’s component driving determinants were used as pre-determined categories. Using thedescription of driving determinants as a guide, meaning units were extracted from the interview transcripts throughan inductive approach. Then, by employing a deductive approach the code book was used to categorise the meaningunits into the pre-determined categories. Findings The views on oral health determinants described by the informants were compatible with the five domainsin the component driving determinants in the FDI’s theoretical framework. Ageing, heredity, and salivation (biologicaland genetic factors), influences from family and the wider society (social environment), location and re-localisation(physical environment), oral hygiene habits, motivation, willingness to change, professional support (health behav-iours), and availability, control, finances, and trust (access to care) were viewed as important oral health determinantsby the informants. Conclusion The study points to a variety of individual oral health-related experiences that oral healthcare profession-als could consider when designing interventions to reduce xerostomia and prevent adverse oral health outcomes forpersons undergoing long-term CPAP-treatment.