The psychological effects of tooth loss in the permanent dentition are relatively unknown. Complete edentulousness is a serious life event in terms of readjustment. The aim of the study was to describe the process patients with deteriorating dental status had gone through before treatment with a fixed prosthesis (Brånemark System, Novum), and to describe what living with a fixed prosthesis means to the patients themselves. In-depth interviews were carried out with 18 patients, and the interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed in open, axial and selective coding processes according to Grounded Theory. In the analysis, four categories were developed and labelled: 'alterations in self-image', 'becoming a deviating person', 'becoming an uncertain person' and 'becoming the person I once was'. 'Alterations in self-image' was identified as the core category and was related to the other three categories. The core category describes the changes in self-image starting with the subjects' increasingly worsened dental status, followed by a period of them having to live and cope with a denture and, finally, their living with a fixed prosthesis. The motive power for the decision to undergo treatment with a fixed prosthesis seems to be a desire to restore dental status and also to recapture attractiveness, self-esteem and a positive self-image.
Motivation for the decision to undergo orthodontic treatment seemed to be social norms, and the beauty culture in their reference group and in society in general. The teenagers were not fully conscious of these external influences. Their opinion, as a group, was that they had made an independent decision to undergo orthodontic treatment.
Orofacial functions include competences/abilities such as eating, breathing, speech/language, mimicry, as well as oral health, and disturbances are common in children with rare disorders. To describe parental experiences of orofacial function and needs in children with rare disorders, in-depth interviews focusing on orofacial function were carried out with 14 parents. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed in open, axial (theoretical) and selective coding processes according to Grounded Theory. Two core categories emerged from data in the analysis: 'the vulnerable family' and 'support perceived from others'. The data indicated the importance of a balance between these two core categories: the strain caused by living in a family with a child with a severe disability/handicap, and the availability of perceived support from caregivers and significant others. This balance was necessary for the parents in developing self-reliance and in reconciling themselves to their life situations. Parents described orofacial dysfunction in terms of feeding and communication problems, needs for orthodontic treatment to reduce risk of trauma or improve chewing, and drooling. Oral health issues such as dental caries and gingivitis were not mentioned. Five aspects of good professional attitude were recognized: respect, involvement, continuity, knowledge, and availability.
The aim of the study was to gain a better understanding of what suffering from hyperacusis means. Twenty-one out-patients referred to a hearing clinic due to persisting hypersensitivity to sounds after an acute head trauma were interviewed. Before the head trauma, they had lived an independent, active and externally oriented life. As a consequence of the trauma, the patients became psychosocially vulnerable and suffered from a variety of symptoms: hypersensitivity to sounds, difficulties with concentrating and remembering, increased anxiety and sensitivity to stress. Structuring everyday life and using a variety of coping strategies was necessary for reducing life stress and symptoms in the process of adjusting to the changed life situation.
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