Journal of dental hygiene : JDH / American Dental Hygienists'' Association最新文献

Purpose The popularity of disposable safety syringes has grown because of their established safety record. Previous studies on local anesthetic syringes have mainly concentrated on safety features and the prevention of needlestick injuries, often neglecting the preferences of practitioners. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the preferences of dental hygiene students and faculty for traditional metal syringes compared to disposable safety syringes.Methods An 11-item questionnaire was distributed to a convenience sample of 61 dental hygiene students and 3 faculty members in a pain management course. The questionnaires were administered after the participants' first exposure to local anesthetic administration on a mannequin and after their final exposure on a live patient to assess any changes in preferences. The post-questionnaire included the same 11 questions, along with an open-ended question inviting participants to share their final thoughts. Data were collected and entered into an Excel spreadsheet for descriptive statistics and inductive content analysisResults The response rate was 93.44% (n=57) for the initial questionnaire and 90.16% (n=55) for the final questionnaire administered to the dental hygiene students. All of the faculty members (n=3) completed both questionnaires. Participants preferred the traditional syringe over the disposable safety syringe for ease of use/comfort and control of the apparatus during set up, aspiration, and injection. However, preferences for disposable safety syringes were indicated in the responses related to syringe break down and clean-up.Conclusion This study assessed the preferences of dental hygiene students and faculty for traditional metal versus disposable safety syringes, revealing a clear preference for the former despite some limitations. Understanding how syringe design affects user comfort and safety could enhance disposable syringe technology and its adoption.

Purpose Dental hygienists' knowledge and application of clear communication techniques are critical due to their role as primary providers of education about preventive regimens. The purpose of this study was to obtain information about dental hygiene students' perceived education regarding recommended communication techniques and their intent to use these techniques in practice.Methods A national online survey was designed by the University of Maryland and structured by the American Dental Association's Council on Advocacy for Access and Prevention (CAAP). The survey was distributed by the American Dental Hygienists' Association (ADHA) in 2019 to 9533 student email addresses. The survey included student demographics, the recommended communication techniques they were exposed to, when and where they were assessed, whether they had heard of the term health literacy, and their intent to use the communication techniques once in clinical practice. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. Significance was set at p< 0.05.Results A total of 235 surveys were returned for a 2.5% response rate. The majority were female (95.7%), white (81.7%) and born in the United States (89.8%). Nearly a third (28.1%) were in baccalaureate programs and over half (59.1%) were in associate degree programs. The most frequently reported method used to educate students about provider-patient communication techniques was lectures (88.9%). Respondents were more likely to report having knowledge regarding the use of simple language (98.3%) than asking the patient to repeat back the information or instructions (87.7%). Respondents had greater confidence (82.1%) and intention to use simple language (92.8%) than confidence to ask patients to repeat back information (73.2%) or intention to do so in the future (67.7%) The majority (58.3%) reported being evaluated on communication skills both in the classroom and clinic setting.Conclusions Results of this survey, although non-representative of all dental hygiene students, suggest a need for increased classroom and clinic use of recommended communication techniques in dental hygiene education programs. Dental hygiene graduates must understand the use of recommended communication techniques to reduce misinformation about oral health and increase patients' knowledge and understanding about preventing oral diseases.

Purpose The World Workshop on the Classification of Periodontal and Peri-Implant Diseases and Conditions introduced a new framework for categorizing periodontal and peri-implant diseases and conditions in 2017. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current implementation practice and factors impacting implementation of the 2017 Classification of Periodontal and Peri-Implant Diseases by clinical dental hygienists.Methods Survey research was conducted in an online format with a non-probability sample of clinical dental hygienists recruited via social media and snowball sampling (n= 255). Components of the survey included personal, environmental, and behavioral factors along with intention to implement the classification of periodontal staging and grading system into patient care. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression.Results The survey completion rate was 71% (n=181). Environmental factors (β=.352, p<.001) and personal factors (β=.469, p<.001) were positively associated with the intention to implement the 2017 periodontal disease classification system. In contrast, behavioral factors (β=.011, p=.889) and highest degree earned (β=.079, p=.151) were not significant predictors. For the intention to attend continuing education courses on the new classification system, both behavioral factors (β=.388, p<.001) and personal factors (β=.299, p=.003) were significant. However, environmental factors (β=-.048, p=.535), years in practice (β=-.041, p=.506), and familiarity (β=.066, p=.402) were not significant predictors.Conclusion Results demonstrated that both environmental and personal factors significantly influenced the intention to implement the 2017 periodontal disease classification system among clinical dental hygienists. To enhance integration, efforts should be made to focus on improving personal motivation and addressing the environmental/workplace factors.

Purpose Maintaining optimal oral health is essential for maternal health as well as the health of their child. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine dental hygiene (DH) students' knowledge of prenatal oral health before and after receiving an asynchronous prenatal oral health care training (POHCT), and their attitudes and self-perceived confidence before and after receiving an experiential learning opportunity with a pregnant and/or post-partum client at a Women's Infants and Children nutrition program (WIC) clinic.Methods A one-group pre/post-test design was used. This IRB-approved study (#2027439-4) utilized a convenience sample of DH student participants (n=37) in their final year of a baccalaureate program at a public institution located in the southeastern United States. The POHCT program and pre/post surveys were completed in a learning management system. During the WIC rotation, participants assessed the presence of a dental home and oral health needs of the client. The validated Prenatal Oral Health Surveys 2015 and 2016:v0/v2, respectively, were used to measure knowledge, attitudes, confidence, and willingness related to practices for pregnant patients; additionally, demographic and program experience questions were included. Some statements were adapted to align with the POHCT and WIC rotation utilized in this study. All the statistical analyses were performed in the R statistical software and p≤0.05 was set for significance.Results A total of 34 participants (91.9%) completed the POHCT program and pre/post. In general, participants gained knowledge and confidence from the POHCT and WIC rotation. Overall, confidence in discussing proper infant feeding practices increased post-training (p<0.001) and there was a marginal increase in knowledge about fluoride safety during pregnancy (p=0.06) but was not statistically significant. Participants reported that the POHCT and WIC rotation were valuable to their clinical education and would recommend continuing the experience for future DH students.Conclusion The POHCT and WIC rotation was successful in improving DH students' knowledge of pregnancy-related oral health topics and provided them with the opportunity and experience to practice learned skills.

Purpose The purpose of this narrative review of the literature was to examine the current evidence on alcoholism and the consequences on oral and general health, in addition to implications to enhance dental hygiene practice for individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD).Methods The search was developed for Medline (via Ovid) and then translated to Cinahl, Scopus, and Web of Science Core Collection. Search results were limited to 2016-present, humans, and English language. Results were exported to EndNote 21 (Clarivate Analytics) for deduplication and uploaded to Rayyan for screening. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts against the inclusion criteria and conflicts were discussed until consensus. A second set of reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts, conflicts were discussed until consensus.Results Of the 406 articles, 383 were excluded. A total of 23 articles were included and categorized into five domains: general health (n=6), screening tools and education (n=5), oral health (n=4), periodontal diseases and conditions (n=4), and cancer (n=4). General health conditions identified included: cardiovascular events, ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, liver cirrhosis, pancreatitis, injuries sustained from traffic accidents, and secondary cancers. Microbial dysbiosis was identified in the gut microbiome, respiratory tract and oral/gut. Oral conditions included: AUD risk of poor oral hygiene, bruxism symptoms/tooth wear, necrotizing periodontal diseases and peri-implant disease. The AUDIT-C was found to be a reliable screening tool to identify patients at risk of hazardous alcohol consumption in the dental setting.Conclusion Excessive alcohol consumption increases morbidity and mortality risk due to the association of chronic health conditions, inflammation and secondary cancers.

Purpose The purpose of this pilot study was to assess allied dental professionals' match accuracy of burned teeth; a skill required by disaster victim identification (DVI) team members.Methods This cross-sectional study used a convenience sample of registered dental hygienists (RDH) (n=15) and dental assistants (DA) (n=15) to assess their match accuracy of burned teeth with simulated antemortem (AM) and postmortem (PM) images. Fifteen human teeth were heated at 400°C for 15 minutes. Prior to and following heat alteration, each tooth was photographed and radiographed. Images were presented to participants in randomized order, and they were instructed to correctly match them with the teeth. Each participant completed 60 matches for the 15 teeth with 1 set of pre- and post-burned photographs and 1 pre- and post-burned periapical (PA) radiographs. Following the match accuracy activity, participants completed an electronic questionnaire to report demographic data and indicate their perceptions of performed tasks.Results A one-sided one-sample binomial proportion test revealed that on average, participants demonstrated more than 80% match accuracy of the teeth with AM and PM images (p=0.0003). When compared by profession, the average match accuracy was 82.1% for RDHs and 72.7% for DAs. A two-sided two-sample binomial proportion test revealed no statistically significant difference of performance between the professions (p=0.8505). A one-sided linear trend test indicated no significant association between match accuracy and years of work experience (p=0.2371).Conclusion On average, participants demonstrated the ability to transfer professional skills to match burned teeth with simulated AM and PM images. Differences in professional background and years of work experience did not have a significant impact. More research is needed to best understand allied dental professionals' transferrable DVI skills.