A Study on the Number of Brushing Strokes in Toothbrushing Education / 치위생과학회지

The purpose of this study was to focus on the number of brushing strokes among the performance factors and identify if the 10 times stroke of the rolling method is rational. Moreover, we evaluated the changes in oral health knowledge, perception, and behavior after our rolling method instruction. The 10-stroke method of toothbrushing has been regarded as an effective method of removal of dental plaque, although there is little evidence to support this claim. We allocated 40 healthy subjects to two intervention groups. During five visits, we measured a score for dental plaque removal and instructed the subjects on a toothbrushing technique with 5 or 10 strokes per section. At the initial and final visits, subjects completed a questionnaire on one designed specifically for this study about oral health knowledge, perceptions, and behaviors. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to compare the dental plaque removal score between the groups, and the changes in scores within each group over time. We also compared changes in mean scores in oral health knowledge, perceptions and behaviors before and after toothbrushing instruction. We found that the score for dental plaque removal increased with each additional toothbrushing instruction in both groups (p < 0.001). However, we found no differences in the dental plaque removal scores between the 5-stroke and 10-stroke groups (p=0.399). The levels of oral health knowledge, perceptions and behaviors increased after the toothbrushing instructions in both groups. Our findings suggest that there is no advantage in emphasizing the 10-stroke method of toothbrushing in an oral health education program.

Study on Clinical Dental Hygiene in Korea Based on Analysis of Clinical Dental Hygiene Curriculum of Fones School in the United States / 치위생과학회지

The aim of this study was to analyze in depth the standardized Clinical dental hygiene curriculum of the Fones School in the United States. We investigated the clinical dental hygiene curriculum in 2015~2016 including title, credit, hours, contents, goals, competencies, and evaluation. We obtained the course syllabus and data related to each subject, for each grade, from the professors and students at the university. The goals and competencies, of the clinical dental hygiene program, which were based on the goals of the Fones School and the mission of the University of Bridgeport, were developed in accordance with the dental hygienist practice standards proposed by the American Dental Hygienists Association. The curriculum consisted of theory to teach proper dental hygiene care procedures and incorporated practical exercises that modeled an actual clinical setting. The students had to document the procedures performed for each client/patient and improve their clinical competency through discussion with the professors. Dental hygiene care should be provided for children, adolescents, adults, elderly, and patients, which includes patients with moderate or severe periodontal status. Students were evaluated by a paper test or case study presentation and their clinical evaluation was based on their clinical competency. In particular, professors evaluated students on a rotational basis, so they could evaluate the level of achievement of clinical competency of all students and find ways to improve any weaknesses. Therefore, the current study suggested that clinical dental hygiene program in Korea could be improved if based on the curriculum of Fones School in the United States.