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Background. Declining humoral immunity in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients and possible reinfection have raised concern. Mucosal immunity, particularly salivary antibodies, may be short lived although long-term studies are lacking. Methods. Using a multiplex bead-based array platform, we investigated antibodies specific to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) proteins in 256 saliva samples from convalescent patients 1-9 months after symptomatic COVID-19 (n = 74, cohort 1), undiagnosed individuals with self-reported questionnaires (n = 147, cohort 2), and individuals sampled prepandemic (n = 35, cohort 3). Results. Salivary IgG antibody responses in cohort 1 (mainly mild COVID-19) were detectable up to 9 months postrecovery, with high correlations between spike and nucleocapsid specificity. At 9 months, IgG remained in blood and saliva in most patients. Salivary IgA was rarely detected at this time point. In cohort 2, salivary IgG and IgA responses were significantly associated with recent history of COVID-19-like symptoms. Salivary IgG tolerated temperature and detergent pretreatments. Conclusions. Unlike SARS-CoV-2 salivary IgA that appeared short lived, specific saliva IgG appeared stable even after mild COVID-19, as for blood serology. This noninvasive saliva-based SARS-CoV-2 antibody test with home self-collection may be a complementary alternative to conventional blood serology., Correction in Journal of Infectious Diseases, vol. 227, issue. 4, pages 603. DOI:10.1093/infdis/jiac121, Scopus:2-s2.0-85158911277QC 20210929

The homeless are a vulnerable group in society. They are frail, in poor general health and tend to have difficulty expressing expectations and needs. While poor oral health is clearly an added burden for people who struggle daily to survive under miserable living conditions, there are also many barriers to dental care. There are currently approximately 17 800 homeless people in Sweden, of whom 3 900 are in Stockholm. The overall aim was to describe the oral status of a sample of homeless adults, to analyse their perceptions of oral health and the consequences to focus on adequate dental care for the homeless. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were applied. In Paper I, the study population comprised 147 homeless individuals. All subjects underwent oral examination, including registration of periodontal status and caries data. The results showed that homeless adults in Stockholm had fewer remaining teeth than the general population. Heavy plaque accumulation will also have an effect on caries progression, expressed in this study as high DMFT (Decayed-Missing- Filled Teeth) values. Loss of teeth is likely to create dental and chewing problems, eventually resulting in increased dental and medical treatment needs. In Paper II, the perceptions of homeless people concerning their oral health and perceived consequences of dental treatment were analysed. Open, tape-recorded interviews were conducted in conversational style. A phenomenological-hermeneutical method was used to analyse the subjects' stories. All narratives revealed expressions of loss as well as recovery in the informants' life- world. Both aspects highlight the fact that being homeless means loss not only of a permanent residence but also of many values and similarly, oral health was described and interpreted in terms of loss and recovery. In Paper III sentences related to the homeless individual as a person, the underlying meanings of what the text talked about, were interpreted as codes and