Due to copyright issues, an electronic copy of the thesis must be ordered from the faculty. For the faculty to have time to process the order, the order must be received by the faculty at the latest 2 days before the public defence. Orders received later than 2 days before the defence will not be processed. After the public defence, please address any inquiries regarding the thesis to the candidate.
Trial Lecture – time and place
See Trial Lecture.
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Professor Richard Watt, University College London, UK
- Second opponent: Professor emerita Anne-Kristine Nordrehaug Åstrøm, University of Bergen, Norway
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Associate professor Cecilie Dahl, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Associate Professor Vibeke Elise Ansteinsson, University of Oslo
Principal Supervisor
Associate Professor and Senior Researcher Rasa Skudutyte-Rysstad, University of Oslo and Oral Health Centre of Expertise in Eastern Norway
Summary
Globally, untreated dental caries is considered the most prevalent of all health conditions. There is limited knowledge about caries experience among adults in Norway and concurrently a need for more comprehensive data to plan for future oral health care services.
The aims of this thesis were to estimate caries prevalence and distribution using clinical, radiographic and self-reported data collected from nearly 5000 individuals aged 19-94 years from the Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT4), and present 45-year trends in caries disease and edentulousness. The thesis further aimed to investigate inequality in caries experience, through assessing associations of both socioeconomic determinants and levels of self-rated health with caries experience.
Dental caries was found to be prevalent among adults in all age groups and there was an uneven distribution of caries in the study population. At the same time, dental health had improved considerably for 35-44-year-olds since 1973.
Over half of the examined individuals had one or more teeth with untreated caries. About 12% of the study population had four or more carious teeth. Complete loss of teeth was only found in individuals aged 65 years and above.
The thesis demonstrated socioeconomic inequality in oral health. Individuals with lower levels of education or income had more missing teeth, more untreated caries, and less fillings than individuals with a high socioeconomic status. Furthermore, people who reported their own health as poor had more caries experience than those with very good health, and this association was more pronounced among women and individuals below 55 years of age.
Despite improvements in oral health of adults, dental caries is still prevalent, especially among vulnerable individuals. The findings in the thesis suggest that a greater emphasis on prevention of oral diseases and adjustments in the current oral health care model are required.
Additional information
Contact the research support staff.