Four quick questions for recent PhD graduate Sonja Rafat
Sonja Rafat is a newly qualified PhD graduate at the Department of Dentistry at Karolinska Institutet. At her public defence on 9 October 2026, she defended her thesis entitled “Oral health and associated factors among outpatients with substance use disorder”. Here, she talks about her research, her time as a PhD student and what lies ahead after her public defence.
How did you come to choose this topic?
Many years ago, I had a patient who came to me for a routine preventive dental check-up. During the treatment, the patient had to sit up several times to be able to breathe properly. Eventually, I asked whether they might need to have their nose examined – for example, to check for polyps. After a while, the patient explained that their nose had been damaged by long-term cocaine snorting. Right then and there, I realised that I didn’t really have the right knowledge or the right tools to help the patient in the best possible way. It sparked my curiosity and became a key reason why I wanted to learn more about the link between substance use and oral health.
What has been the most enjoyable part?
The most enjoyable part has been being able to combine clinical work with research. Throughout my doctoral programme, I have worked part-time as a dental hygienist and part-time as a PhD student. It has been extremely valuable to be able to bring clinical experience into my research whilst also gaining a scientific perspective on the issues encountered in dental care.
What are your most important findings?
The most important findings are that people with substance use disorders had significant dental care needs and a high burden of oral disease. We also observed that the differences did not appear to be linked solely to the substance used, but that factors such as age, educational level and oral hygiene habits played a major role. Another important finding was that many had irregular contact with dental services and often only sought treatment when they had acute symptoms. Overall, the findings show that the dental services need to pay more attention to this patient group and that there is a need for better collaboration between dental care and addiction services.
What happens next? What does the future hold?
The immediate goal is to finalise and publish the third article. After that, I would like to continue utilising my clinical and scientific experience, but I am also open to exploring what opportunities lie ahead. The hope is that, in the long term, this research can help to improve dental care for people with substance use disorders.
