Dental professionals participating in a home visiting programme for first-time parents.

Abstract

A home visiting programme was offered to first-time parents in the south of Sweden to reduce health inequalities among young children and support parents. The programme involved a collaboration between child healthcare nurses and midwives, social workers, and dental hygienists/dental nurses. It is unusual for dental professionals to participate in such programmes. To describe the experiences of collaboration between child healthcare nurses and dental professionals and their views on the programme from a dental perspective. Qualitative semi-structured interview study with content analysis. Four child healthcare nurses, three dental hygienists, and two dental nurses. Analysis identified five themes: contribution of knowledge, reinforced oral health advice, family-based oral health advice, financial considerations, and future role of the dental care. Participants stressed the importance of dental professionals' knowledge, the need for child healthcare nurses and dental professional to conduct home visits together to deliver family-based and reinforced dental advice. They suggested a follow-up visit and the participation of the public dental service before a private dental care provider since most children will visit a public dentist later. The programme was perceived as worth the costs, but for the best utility, the resources should primarily be for non-native parents. Further research should focus on the effect of the home visiting programme on the children's oral health.