Dementia from Cell to Society – for dentists, dental hygienists, dietitians, speech-language pathologists and audiologists, Autumn 2025

About the course

The course is unique as it brings together several professions who work in the field of dementia. Dentists, dental hygienists, dietitians, speech-language pathologists, audiologists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists all take this course together. This will give you a new multi-professional perspective on dementia, oral health and the communicative function. You will also get the opportunity to create networks with people of different professions.

After the course you will receive a diploma from Karolinska Institutet and Stiftelsen Silviahemmet as well as a special pin that will be awarded to you by HM Queen Silvia at a ceremony.

Objectives

This course aims to increase your knowledge about:

• Risk factors, symptoms and progression of different dementia disorders
• Your professional role and team-related aspects in the care of people with dementia
• Consequences of dementia from a biopsychosocial perspective
• Informal care and support for people with dementia

Course set-up

The course amounts to 15 ECTS and is delivered part-time. The course is entirely web-based and consists of webinars, lectures (mainly pre-recorded), individual assignments, online discussions and seminars.

Target groups

Dentists, dental hygienists, speech-language pathologists, and audiologists who work with older adults and who regularly meet patients with dementia.

Course content

The course is divided into two modules:

Dementia from a biological perspective, 7.5 credits
This module covers the most common types of dementia and prevention, symptoms, progression and interventions are discussed. This module also covers the consequences of dementia form a biopsychosocial perspective.

Dementia from a societal perspective, 7.5 credits
This module covers how to interact with people with dementia in different stages of the illness. It also includes a reflection, based important concepts, on what it is like to live with dementia and how family members perceive the illness.

Course syllabus

Course leaders

”Oral health for people with dementia needs to be managed multi-professionally. This course is an important first step in this direction.”
- Anna-Karin Welmer, course leader, senior lecturer in physiotherapy, associate professor in aging research, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet.

Inger Wårdh, specialist dentist orofacial medicine and associate professor in gerodontics, Department of Dental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet.

Anna Brorsson, PhD, assistant professor, senior lecturer, occupational therapy, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet.

Nivetha Gavriilidou, PhD, lecturer, Department of Dental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet.

Christina Samuelsson, professor/speech and language pathologist at Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology.

Jeannette Ekblom Hägerström, lecturer at Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology.

Date

Course start: 3 november 2025. Course end: April 2026.

Location

Interactive online studies on the learning platform Canvas and online meetings in the video conferencing provider Zoom.

Price

35 000 SEK. VAT may be added to all prices, contact us for more information.

Application

Please note that the course is subject to the condition that we receive a sufficient number of participants.

More information

Susanna Sjunneryd, project coordinator
Karolinska Institutet Executive and Professional Education
E-mail: susanna.sjunneryd@ki.se
Phone: +46 (0) 8-524 86 432