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

Background Health literacy is fundamental to healthy behaviour, defined as seeking, processing, and evaluating health information to make informed decisions. Access to health information has historically been linked to socioeconomic status (SES), with disparities in health persisting due to unequal access to new health technologies. Digital technologies offer opportunities for spreading health information but may also increase inequalities through a digital divide. The Norwegian government established the website ung.no in 2003 to provide health information to adolescents. This study aims to investigate what oral health information adolescents seek on the ung.no Q&A service and how they use it to build oral health literacy. Methods The study analysed 1632 questions posted on the ung.no Q&A service and answered by dentists between January 1, 2020, and May 12, 2023. Data included self-reported gender and age of the individuals posting the questions. Descriptive analyses, text mining, manual coding and qualitative thematic analysis were used to assess the four elements of health literacy: finding, processing, evaluating and utilizing health information. Results The analysis revealed that most questions were posted by girls (65.8%), with the majority coming from the 13–15 age group (55%). Common themes included orthodontic treatment, caries, oral hygiene, finances and the impact of diet and substances on oral health. Adolescents used the Q&A service to seek information, confirm information from other sources, and evaluate options for oral health behaviours and treatments. Many questions reflected concerns about the appearance of teeth, fear of dental procedures and the confidentiality of dental visits. Negative emotions such as stress, fear and shame were prevalent, impacting the adolescents’ ability to process information and make informed decisions. Conclusion The ung.no Q&A service is a valuable tool for adolescents to increase their oral health literacy. The study highlights the importance of providing clear, accessible information and addressing the emotional factors that influence health behaviours. Dental professionals should focus on building trust, offering empathic communication, and providing proactive guidance to support adolescents in making informed decisions about their oral health.

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. 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. 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. 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.

This research aimed at strengthening the evidence base for interventions to promote the participation and inclusion of children and youth with disabilities in their communities. Four selected municipalities in four different regions of Norway participated. Focus group discussions (FGDs) were carried out in all four municipalities with service providers, children and youth with disabilities, and parents of children and youth with disabilities. The FGDs were used to develop a questionnaire to measure participation indicators. A survey was carried out among 186 children and youth, combining (a) random sampling of children and youth without disabilities and (b) invitations to all children and youth with disabilities, as registered by the municipalities. High-level analyses of the FGDs are presented, indicating the barriers and facilitators for participation for children and youth with disabilities, as well as requests for improvement of services to stimulate participation. The categories of family, technology, and volunteering were identified primarily as facilitators of participation, while school environment was primarily identified as a barrier. The survey measured four different aspects of perception of one’s own participation. Data analyses revealed higher level of environmental barriers among children and youth with disabilities, and lower level of actual participation, satisfaction with one’s own participation and one’s own participation compared with that of peers.

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.

Background Caries increment during adolescence, including enamel caries, is rarely explored in detail. This study assessed the caries increment during the period from 12 to 18 years. The specific objectives were to examine time trends, increment variability between individuals, and whether baseline caries experience at 12 years or sex had an impact on the caries increment. Methods The sample included seven birth cohorts (1996–2002; n  = 23,135) from a general adolescent population in Trøndelag County, Norway. Data was based on dental records from the Public Dental Service. Two caries increment thresholds were examined at the tooth level: the enamel caries increment (ΔD 1–2 T), and the caries increment at the dentin level, including missing and filled teeth (ΔD 3–5 MFT). Zero-inflated Poisson models were used to account for the skewed distribution with a high proportion of zero caries increment (31.1% with ΔD 1–2 T = 0 and 33.4% with ΔD 3–5 MFT=0). Results The mean caries increments for the seven cohorts were ΔD 1–2 T = 3.14 (95% CI: 3.09–3.19) and ΔD 3–5 MFT = 2.51 (95% CI: 2.47–2.55). A modest temporal trend of decreasing caries increment across cohorts was observed at both thresholds: ΔD 1–2 T = -0.31 (95% CI: ±0.13) and ΔD 3–5 MFT = -0.43 (95% CI: ±0.11). However, this decrease was small compared to the variation in caries increments between individuals. Females had slightly lower mean caries increment than males, but there was no effect of sex on the change across cohorts. Adolescents with high baseline caries experience at 12 years had higher mean caries increments compared to the intermediate or low baseline caries experience groups, and a reduction across cohorts was only seen in the two latter groups. Conclusions While there was a modest reduction in caries increment across cohorts, this reduction was small compared to the variation in caries increments between individuals. The change across cohorts was the same in females and males. Baseline caries experience at 12 years was a strong predictor of caries increment and the reduction across cohorts was only seen among those with lower baseline caries experience, incdicating an increased dental health disparity among Norwegian adolescents. Clinical Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05935813, Release Date: 28/06/2023.

Participation of children and young people with disabilities is often restricted and needs to be higher on the agenda of relevant municipal service providers. With a sociology of childhood perspective and based on thematic analysis of two focus group discussions and one individual interview with children and young people with various (dis)abilities, we present and discuss their recommendations for achieving increased participation in activities and services within their local communities in two Norwegian municipalities. The findings are presented as six themes concerning service development participation, local activities, staff interaction, language and respect, community meeting places for youth with functional variations and inclusive built environments. Our findings should be of immediate concern for service providers, healthcare staff, policymakers and others who are responsible for services and policies aiming at increasing children’s participation in their daily life environments.

The use of medical products differs from so-called everyday products in that people need them, rather than have a special desire to use them, and also because the use contexts often relate to care. For human-centered designers, it is essential to understand stakeholders as well as use contexts, and more research is needed about how products and services can facilitate improved healthcare experiences. In this article, an understanding of stakeholders and use contexts in the case of children's medical treatment is attempted through a phenomenological hermeneutics approach inspired by the views of Heidegger, Gadamer, and van Manen. We chose this approach because it encourages gaining an understanding of care as a phenomenon through an interpretative dialogue. Based on an analysis of interviews conducted with nurses and parents who have experienced medical treatment of children aged 0 to 3 years, we present five themes capturing the perspectives of the phenomenon of care in the case of children's medical treatment. Another outcome of this analysis is an appraisal of phenomenological hermeneutics as a human-centered design approach and its utilization for the design of medical products. We argue that its strength lies in the dedication toward lived experience, responding to a human-centered view that acknowledges human agency, competence, and participation.

Adolescence is a critical period for establishing oral health habits, yet motivating young people remains challenging. This paper presents a pilot intervention in the Norwegian Public Dental Service, developed through co-design and guided by salutogenic and hope theory. The intervention consisted of three touchpoints: an SMS invitation, an in-clinic goal-setting dialogue, and a follow-up SMS embedded in routine care. Based on interviews with clinicians and adolescents, we explore how hope-oriented communication can be enacted within everyday clinical practice.

Abstract Background Health literacy is fundamental to healthy behaviour, defined as seeking, processing, and evaluating health information to make informed decisions. Access to health information has historically been linked to socioeconomic status (SES), with disparities in health persisting due to unequal access to new health technologies. Digital technologies offer opportunities for spreading health information but may also increase inequalities through a digital divide. The Norwegian government established the website ung.no in 2003 to provide health information to adolescents. This study aims to investigate what oral health information adolescents seek on the ung.no Q&A service and how they use it to build oral health literacy. Methods The study analysed 1632 questions posted on the ung.no Q&A service and answered by dentists between January 1, 2020, and May 12, 2023. Data included self-reported gender and age of the individuals posting the questions. Descriptive analyses, text mining, manual coding and qualitative thematic analysis were used to assess the four elements of health literacy: finding, processing, evaluating and utilizing health information. Results The analysis revealed that most questions were posted by girls (65.8%), with the majority coming from the 13–15 age group (55%). Common themes included orthodontic treatment, caries, oral hygiene, finances and the impact of diet and substances on oral health. Adolescents used the Q&A service to seek information, confirm information from other sources, and evaluate options for oral health behaviours and treatments. Many questions reflected concerns about the appearance of teeth, fear of dental procedures and the confidentiality of dental visits. Negative emotions such as stress, fear and shame were prevalent, impacting the adolescents’ ability to process information and make informed decisions. Conclusion The ung.no Q&A service is a valuable tool for adolescents to increase their oral health literacy. The study highlights the importance of providing clear, accessible information and addressing the emotional factors that influence health behaviours. Dental professionals should focus on building trust, offering empathic communication, and providing proactive guidance to support adolescents in making informed decisions about their oral health.