Adolescents' views on oral health care and promotion in Norway: everyday practices, recommendations, and future visions

Introduction

In this study, we aimed to understand adolescents' perspectives on oral health care and promotion. Our research was conducted in the context of Norway's oral health care system, where societal factors like income and education influence health disparities. Despite free public dental care for all residents younger than 19 years, challenges persist in promoting oral health among adolescents, a group whose oral health behavior and literacy remain largely unexplored.

Materials and methods

A thematic analysis of an anonymized dataset from 80 adolescents aged 12-20 years was conducted.

Results

Five central themes were recognized: (1) Feeling fresh vs. feeling indifferent: A broad spectrum of attitudes; (2) Bridging gaps, building habits: Collaborative efforts in oral care; (3) "Create good experiences at the dentist so people come back again"; (4) Requested qualities in oral health promoting solutions; (5) Reminder tools for everyday use. Taken together, these themes highlight adolescents' oral health practices and resources, recommendations for dental clinics, and visions for future oral health promotion.

Discussion

Based on the results, the discussion highlights a need for tailored oral health promotion and ideas to reach adolescents in meaningful and effective ways. Reflections on the theme of social inequalities are provided.

Investigating hope in oral health promotion for adolescents: an exploratory study based on observations at the dental clinic

Introduction

Maintaining well-being is crucial, especially in challenging conditions, considering the common public health issue of dental caries. Within the context of adolescent oral health, this research explores the techniques employed by dental professionals to potentially foster hope -a positive manner that promotes well-being- in adolescents during consultations, opening a window into the realm of patient engagement and well-being.

Materials and methods

Data were collected through observations conducted at public dental clinics in Norway, with the participation of three dental professionals and four adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15 years. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Practices were observed from dental professionals in their interactions with adolescents, which align with features of hope.

Result

Three core themes were identified: (1) bonding strategies; (2) verbal and non-verbal strategies for creating positive relationships; and (3) adolescents' empowerment in dental consultations.

Conclusion

Although a new concept within oral health promotion, it seems that dental professionals in this study were observed to be facilitating hope in adolescents when they were providing their dental care. Consideration should be given to the potential for future approaches to be developed for use in dental consultations to facilitate hope strategically. While these approaches are likely to contribute to improving patient-centredness, consideration is needed of challenges and barriers to their implementation.

Dental professionals' views on motivational interviewing for the prevention of dental caries with adolescents in central Norway

BACKGROUND

Establishing positive oral health behaviours during adolescence should be a key priority to improve lifelong oral health. However, changing adolescent behaviours is known to be a challenge. Motivational interviewing (MI) is a method of working with patients to activate their motivation for change and has shown promising results within the dental setting. Yet, little is known about the actual experiences and perspectives of Norwegian dental health professionals in delivering motivational interviewing as part of routine care to their young patients. The overall aim of the present study was to explore the implementation of motivational interviewing by dentists and dental hygienists, employed by the Norwegian Public Dental Service, for their adolescent patients.

METHODS

As part of the larger #Care4YoungTeeth <3 project, a Norwegian Research Council funded four-year Collaborative Project to Meet Societal and Industry-related Challenges, an online survey was developed and administered to dental personnel (n = 168) in one region of Central Norway. Data were analysed by descriptive statistics and two-sample tests of proportions at the 95% confidence level.

RESULTS

A total of 98 dental personnel responded to the survey (response rate 58.3%), of which 37 were dental hygienists (response rate 72.5%) and 61 were dentists (response rate 52.1%). A greater proportion of hygienists reported implementing this intervention compared to dentists (78.4% versus 50.8%; p = 0.007). Similarly, a greater proportion of hygienists (83.8%) stated that they had received training in MI compared to dentists (65.6%; p = 0.051). About 80% of dentists and 90% of dental hygienists felt that they understood the principles of MI. However, only about 45% and 60%, respectively, felt confident in its use. Dental hygienists found MI more usable in their work (p = 0.052), to a greater extent want to use MI (p = 0.002) and found that using MI works well (p < 0.001), as compared to dentists.

CONCLUSIONS

A high proportion of dental professionals working within a Norwegian public dental service have received training in MI. However, barriers to implementation for adolescent patients and differences in practice between dentists and hygienists warrant further enquiry.