Oral health-related side effects are common in patients with both untreated and PAP-treated OSA and can hinder adherence toPAP treatment. Despite extensive research on OSA and PAP, oral health experiences of PAP professionals remain unexplored.The aim was to describe PAP professionals' experiences and management of symptoms and treatment effects on oral health in pa-tients with OSA before and during PAP treatment. The study has a qualitative design with an inductive approach, where 17 stra-tegically selected PAP professionals (physicians, nurses, and biomedical scientists) at nine Swedish PAP clinics participated insemi-structured in-depth interviews. The data was analysed with content analysis. Four categories described PAP professionals'experiences before and during PAP treatment. The categories Acknowledging oral health aspects when exploring the clinical dataand Exploring the patients' oral health-related experiences described the OSA diagnosis, intra-oral visual features, and sharedsigns between OSA and oral health. The categories Adjusting the PAP device related to oral health and Managing oral health-related situations during PAP treatment described the oral health-related challenges in patient collaboration and individualisedPAP treatment. In conclusion, oral dryness was an oral health-related symptom of OSA and a side effect of PAP treatment, notedby PAP professionals. Management of oral health-related situations and treatment effects was difficult as there was a lack ofknowledge and no established remedial routine.

Background Dental caries is a global public health problem with persistent inequalities. Research with a salutogenic perspective, as in, a focus on health factors, can provide important knowledge to be used in health promotion. The aim was to explore salutogenic resources among dental caries-free young adults living in vulnerable communities in South Africa.

Methods A total of 32 participants (28 females, 4 males, mean age 26.2 years) with no previous caries experience were purposively recruited from two under-resourced townships. The qualitative data from interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed via qualitative content analysis.

Results The resulting theme, A salutogenic foundation for oral health: preservation of traditions and use of personal health assets as protection against challenges, comprised two categories: (1) Individual health assets and early intergenerational learning, and (2) Ability to apply learned health strategies. Having individual health assets and tools for coping, early learning experiences by positive family influence, being exposed to healthy traditions during hardships, and the ability to apply learned health strategies were important salutogenic resources. Together, these resources formed a salutogenic foundation for oral health which enabled individuals to develop healthy routines, make healthy choices for oral health, and maintain oral health when encountering challenges and hardships.

Conclusions Salutogenic resources for oral health empowered individuals from vulnerable communities to maintain oral health. This suggests that future health promotion interventions should be considered and directed at multiple levels, targeting individual, family, community, and structural factors to promote sustainable oral health.

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 and Objectives: Preventive care is vital in maintaining health and supporting independence among older persons. In Sweden, a national quality register (Senior Alert) was developed in elder care to support healthcare workers working to prevent malnutrition, falls, pressure ulcers, and poor oral health. However, we predicted that challenges in providing care at home result in preventive work being least used when and where it would be most effective: early in disease processes. The current study examines the preventive care actions planned and performed for older persons with identified risks, to compare quality and equity of care in different care settings.

Methods: Persons from the Swedish Screening Across the Lifespan Twin Study registered in the Senior Alert were included in the study (N = 2914). Descriptive and analytical statistical analyses regarding risk assessment and planned and performed preventive actions were conducted among those persons registered in hospitals, home health care, nursing homes, dementia care homes, or short-term nursing homes.

Results: Almost 80% of the sample had identified risk in at least one of the four risk areas, with falls and malnutrition being most common. Risks differed between care settings, and having any risk was most common among older persons in short-term nursing homes. The largest difference between planned and performed actions was for older persons with home health care, and especially true for the oldest persons (>80 years old).

Conclusions: Preventive care is vital as it is often easier to prevent than treat, and pressure ulcers, malnutrition, poor oral health, and falls are common among older persons. However, preventive actions were less likely to be performed in the home health care, especially for the oldest adults. Reasons for this might be related to challenges of performing care in a person’s home, lack of knowledge, and organizational challenges, but further investigation is needed.

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.