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Abstract Background There is a need for effective behavioural interventions in dentistry. This paper presents an innovative behavioural intervention for young adults with dental caries, in an interdisciplinary collaboration between dental personnel and licensed psychologist in general dental care. The intervention has been evaluated in an RCT, with positive effects on oral health behaviour. Method The intervention, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a recent form of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), was adapted to young adult patients (18–25 years of age) with high dental caries activity. Results The intervention included two individual sessions, provided by a clinical psychologist at general dental clinics. The rationale for selecting ACT as the theory base is presented, together with the treatment manual and a case illustration. Conclusions ACT may be a promising alternative for behavioural interventions in dentistry for patients with oral diseases, specifically dental caries. Interprofessional collaboration between psychologists and dental personnel opens up for new possibilities to help and treat patients with various health issues in public dental care. Trial registration TRN ISRCTN15009620 www.isrctn.com , retrospectively registered 14/03/2018.

Abstract Background Oral diseases, such as early childhood caries (ECC), have a complex etiology with common, behaviour-related risk factors. Appropriately targeted behavioural intervention using effective tools can help to eliminate risk behaviour leading to ECC. The aim of this study was to ascertain which visual stimuli with a supporting text evoke the strongest emotional response in infants’ mothers and, therefore, are suitable candidates for inclusion in behavioural interventions within the prevention of ECC. Methods Thirty-nine mothers of one-year-old children who filled out an originally designed electronic questionnaire, containing 20 visual stimuli with accompanying texts related to dental caries (10/10 with positive/negative intended emotional response), were included in this cross-sectional study. The emotional impact of each stimulus in the mothers was evaluated using the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) technique, which represents three emotional dimensions: valence, arousal, and dominance. Results Each of the stimuli was assessed by the mothers of infants based on its emotional impact. The real emotional response (evaluated according to the median of valence) was in line with the primarily intended response in 90% of cases (p