Oral Health Research Group

One of the major societal challenges is to increase the awareness of oral health as an integral part of general health and well-being. The Department of Clinical Dentistry aims to promote positive attitude and behavior toward a better oral health, especially in the north of Norway. The research activities at the Department of Clinical Dentistry focuses on oral health communication, behavioural dentistry, preclinical and clinical research, especially in domains related the knowledge and practices of graduating European dentists on the prevention and management of oral diseases, including oral infections.

Main goals

The main goals of the research group are summarized in two pillers as follows:

Research on dental public health, oral health communication, oral health psychology and behavioural dentistry

The overarching thematic focus of research has been communication related to health topics, both in terms of communication between dental health professionals and patients and between patients. The research conducted include aspects related to communication, oral health illiteracy and the relationship between stakeholders in the context of healthcare. A substantial part of research activities has investigated the phenomenon of dental anxiety. Most recently the department has also taken interests in how attitudes and psychological phenomena among dental health professionals are related to their clinical practice and life in general, for instance how mentalization capabilities among dentists and dental students impact their perception of clinical encounters and quality of life.

Research on preclinical, clinical and experimental dentistry

The group is conducting research on oral biomaterials, oral microbiome, evidence-based practice, and identification of clinical and molecular biomarkers for future oral disease risk assessment. The group aims to use clinical data obtained from large epidemiological studies conducted in the north of Norway (for example, Fitfuture and Tromsø Study 7) to map the oral health status among the population in Norway, primary in the north of Norway, for a better prevention and evidence-based approach to deliver high quality oral health services. The research output aims also to emphasis the role of dental health professionals in Norway and elsewhere to preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics by advocating for responsible use of antibiotics in the community.

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RESEARCH GROUP MEMBERS

Mohammed Al-HaroniProfessor, Head of Department of Clinical Dentistry (Group leader)

Jan-Are Kolset JohnsenProfessor / Oral Health Psychology

Asbjørn JokstadProfessor, Oral Prosthetics and Stomatognathic Function

Aida Gacic MulicProfessor

Sigbjørn LøesProfessor

Paula Hanna Therese FridAssociate Professor

Bo Wold NilsenAssociate Professor

Anne Margrete GussgardAssociate Professor, DDS, MSc, PhD, Diplomate of The American Board of Periodontology

Linda SteinAssociate Professor Dental Public Health

Gro Eirin HoldeAssociate professor

Rania Al-MahdiAssociate Professor

Andreas SchmalfussAssociate professor

Anca VirtejAssociate professor / endodontics

Ying XueAssociate professor (Biomaterial)

Napat Limchaichana BolstadAssociate professor in oral and maxillofacial radiology

Hege NermoAssociate professor

Lars Martin BergAssociate professor 2 / Gerodontology

Silje Navjord MoltubakkAssistant Professor

Rita MyrlundPhD candidate in Orthodontics

Kine Margrethe MathisenAssistant Professor

Hilde Karin NyborgAssistant Professor

Tracy Munthali LundePost Doctoral Fellow

Lene Marita SteinvikPhD-student

Berit TømmeråsHead Engineer

Our research projects

Fit Futures (FF)

The Tromsø Study

Other research projects

All publications

Newly accepted papers

Doctoral theses

Name	Title	Year	Link
Natalia Koposova	Oral health among children in the Barents region: study on determinants of oral health, their oral related quality of life and quality of dental care	2013	https://hdl.handle.net/10037/5595
Linda Maria Stein	Oral health literacy in adult dental patients - A clinical study	2015	https://hdl.handle.net/10037/10991
Lina Stangvaltaite-Mouhat	The «deep caries» challenge. Prevalence and management of deep carious lesions in Northern Norway.	2015	https://hdl.handle.net/10037/8295
Ioanna Dallari Jacobsen	Dental health and need for non-operative treatment among 16-year-olds in Northern Norway	2018	https://hdl.handle.net/10037/12213
Bo Wold Nilsen	Methacrylates in polymer-resin based dental materials: Assessment of exposure and biological effects.	2018	https://hdl.handle.net/10037/13366
Gro Eirin Holde	Periodontal health in Troms County, Northern Norway. Descriptive, subject level and site-specific analyses	2019	https://hdl.handle.net/10037/16302
Sigurd Hadler-Olsen	Ectopic and normal maxillary canine eruption: maxillary incisor root resorption and interceptive treatment	2019	https://hdl.handle.net/10037/16734
Hege Nermo	Dental anxiety in adolescents and adults: Epidemiological studies based on the Tromsø Study 7 and Fit Futures 1 & 2	2021	https://hdl.handle.net/10037/22435
Tracy Munthali Lunde	Antibiotic Resistance in Oral Streptococci: The prevalence, diversity, stability, and fitness cost of Tn916 -Tn1545 family in oral streptococcal isolates	2022	https://hdl.handle.net/10037/24192

Lars Martin Berg	Treatment success with continuous positive airway pressure or mandibular advancement splints in non-severe obstructive sleep apnea: A randomized controlled clinical trial on sleep quality, health-related quality of life and clinical predictors of treatment success	2022	https://hdl.handle.net/10037/24049
Andreas Jörn Schmalfuss	Molar-Incisor Hypomineralization (MIH) Prevalence among 16-year-old adolescents: A case-control study of children with a low Apgar score at birth and a study on tooth formation and antibiotics in mice	2022	https://hdl.handle.net/10037/24706
Aksel Waldemar Wikant	Dental composites - The effects of matrix composition, suboptimal light curing and water exposure	2023	https://hdl.handle.net/10037/28771
Anna Teterina	Panoramic radiograph analysis for early detection of osteoporosis in the population of Northern Norway	2024	https://munin.uit.no/handle/10037/32402

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Year	Name of the study	Number of participants
2010-2011	Fit Futures 1 (FF1)	1038
2012-2013	Fit Futures 2 (FF2)	870
2021-2022	Fit Futures 3 (FF3)	705

Main goals

RESEARCH GROUP MEMBERS

Mohammed Al-Haroni – Professor, Head of Department of Clinical Dentistry

Jan-Are Kolset Johnsen – Professor / Oral Health Psychology

Asbjørn Jokstad – Professor, Oral Prosthetics and Stomatognathic Function

Aida Gacic Mulic – Professor

Sigbjørn Løes – Professor

Paula Hanna Therese Frid – Associate Professor

Bo Wold Nilsen – Associate Professor

Anne Margrete Gussgard – Associate Professor, DDS, MSc, PhD, Diplomate of The American Board of Periodontology

Linda Stein – Associate Professor Dental Public Health

Gro Eirin Holde – Associate professor

Rania Al-Mahdi – Associate Professor

Andreas Schmalfuss – Associate professor

Anca Virtej – Associate professor / endodontics

Ying Xue – Associate professor (Biomaterial)

Napat Limchaichana Bolstad – Associate professor in oral and maxillofacial radiology

Hege Nermo – Associate professor

Lars Martin Berg – Associate professor 2 / Gerodontology

Silje Navjord Moltubakk – Assistant Professor

Rita Myrlund – PhD candidate in Orthodontics

Kine Margrethe Mathisen – Assistant Professor

Hilde Karin Nyborg – Assistant Professor

Tracy Munthali Lunde – Post Doctoral Fellow

Lene Marita Steinvik – PhD-student