State Licensing Board Requirements for Entry into the Dental Hygiene Profession.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify current requirements for initial licensure and entry into the dental hygiene profession across state dental and dental hygiene licensing boards in the United States.Methods: A non-experimental study design was used to study dental and dental hygiene board licensing requirements in the United States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Each regulatory board website was searched for requirements for entry-level dental hygiene licensure. Requirements were recorded on an Excel spreadsheet. State dental practice acts were reviewed to gather further information and 20 regulatory bodies were contacted to verify accuracy. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data.Results: Information from a total of 52 dental boards (n=52) was examined for this study. Nearly all boards (n=51, 98.1%), with the exception of Alabama, required completion of entry-level education from a CODA accredited dental hygiene program and successful completion of the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination. Most states (n=51, 98.1%), except Delaware, also required a live-patient, a clinical board examination. Application fees ranged from $47.70 to $600. States varied considerably in terms of requirements for background checks, age, military status, and infection control training.Conclusion: Although the majority of regulatory bodies require completion of entry-level dental hygiene education from a CODA accredited program and successful completion of national board and a live-patient, clinical examination, there is considerable variation in other additional requirements for initial dental hygiene licensure.

Exploring the Integration of the Dental Hygiene Diagnosis in Entry-Level Dental Hygiene Curricula.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate how dental hygiene educational programs currently incorporate dental hygiene diagnosis (DHDx) into entry-level, dental hygiene curriculum.Methods: An exploratory, quantitative, descriptive cross-sectional study was designed to assess the extent to which DHDx is integrated into entry-level dental hygiene curriculum. A 30-item survey was designed and content validity established using a subset of dental hygiene faculty and researchers as well as participants from the American Dental Hygienists' Association. Data was collected using the Qualtrics® electronic platform; two electronic mailings were sent to all entry-level dental hygiene programs. All surveys included a consent form and confidentiality was maintained. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data.Results: Of the 334 surveys e-mailed, 198 responses (n=198) were received for a 59% response rate. Of the program respondents, 98% (n=191) reported that the dental hygiene process of care and concepts specifically relating to the DHDx were being taught. In addition, 79% (n=153) of respondents confirmed that they "always" require students to write a DHDx statement for the patients. Of the respondents, 80% (n=150) recognized that formulating a DHDx should result in improved patient outcomes and 76% (n=143) indicated that formulating a DHDx increases the dental hygienist's accountability in patient care.Conclusion: This exploratory study assessed the extent to which the DHDx is taught in entry-level dental hygiene programs. Findings confirmed that the DHDx is an integral component of dental hygiene education, but there is a need for standardization and faculty calibration for DHDx concepts and terminology. These results support adding DHDx into the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) standards.

Evaluation of resources for an interactive infection control instructional program.

PURPOSE: To evaluate educational resources used in developing and implementing an interactive infection control instructional program for first year (n=26) and second year (n=26) dental hygiene students in a baccalaureate program. METHODS: An educator's toolkit was used to develop online and interactive learning modalities for teaching infection control content. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate responses on a post instruction opinion survey on a 5-point Likert-type scale. RESULTS: Following the instructional program, most students reported on an opinion survey that they understood infection control principles (92% first year, 100% second year), felt prepared to work safely in clinic (96% first year, 100% second year) and liked working at their own pace (88% first year, 100% second year). First year students valued the online learning components and were less favorable toward supplemental textbook readings and the limited time to complete all 10 modules. Most second year students valued the interactive workshop but did not take the time to complete the online videos and did not watch all of them. Seventy-nine percent of second year students (n=20) preferred the interactive workshop method over traditional lecture instruction completed during their first year. CONCLUSION: This paper describes 1 institution's process of developing and implementing an infection control instructional program utilizing an educator's toolkit.

A survey of United States dental hygienists' knowledge, attitudes, and practices with infection control guidelines.

PURPOSE: To assess knowledge, attitudes and practices of U.S. dental hygienists with infection control guidelines (ICG). Research has shown improved compliance with specific aspects of dental ICG is needed. This study supports the American Dental Hygienists' Association National Research Agenda's Occupational Health and Safety objective to investigate methods to decrease errors, risks and or hazards in health care. Data are needed to assess compliance, prevention and behavioral issues with current ICG practices. METHODS: A proportional stratified random sample (n=2,500) was recruited for an online survey. Descriptive statistics summarized demographic characteristics and knowledge, attitudes and practices responses. Spearman's rho correlations determined relationships between knowledge, attitudes and practices responses (p<0.05). Dominant themes were identified from open-ended responses. RESULTS: A 31% response rate (n=765) was attained. Respondents agreed/strongly agreed with familiarity with ICG (86%) and believed ICG are relevant to their patients (88%). Responses indicated low compliance (rarely/never used) with handpiece sterilization (n=209, 31%), utility glove use (n=317, 47%), and pre-procedural rinsing (n=324, 48%). Significant relationships were found between ICG implementation and access to necessary supplies (rs=0.549), supervisors' expectations for using ICG (rs=0.529) and no time to use (rs=-0.537). Themes from comments indicated time is a barrier, and respondents' perceived a need for involvement of all co-workers. CONCLUSION: Dental hygienists are adhering with most aspects of the ICG. High compliance with ICG among respondents in this study was associated with positive safety beliefs and practices, whereas lower compliance with ICG was associated with less positive safety beliefs and practices. A safety culture appears to be a factor in compliance with ICG.

E-learning vs. classroom instruction in infection control in a dental hygiene program.

The purpose of this project was to evaluate e-learning versus classroom instruction in infection control by comparing outcomes of multiple-choice examination scores and clinical competency-based examinations (CBE) between two groups of first-year dental hygiene students (fall 2008 e-learning: n=26; fall 2009 classroom instruction: n=26). Contents of both instructional units were comparable and were developed by the Organization for Safety, Asepsis, and Prevention. All students in each group were required to complete infection control instruction as part of the preclinical curriculum (didactic and clinical) and were tested on the material using the multiple-choice examination and clinical CBE. Both groups' scores on the multiple-choice examination ranged from 74 percent to 94 percent (n=26 to 33 of 35), with e-learning mean score=82.8 percent, n=29 of 35, and classroom instruction mean score=86.8 percent, n=30 of 35. A two-tailed independent samples t-test indicated a statistically significant difference between the two groups on the multiple-choice examination (p=0.11). The Fisher's exact test indicated no statistically significant difference between the two groups on the first-time pass rate for the clinical CBE (p=0.668). Findings demonstrated little difference between the two methods for teaching infection control. Thus, either method may be chosen. Future research should examine a blended approach with larger samples and longitudinal data.

Dental hygiene faculty calibration in the evaluation of calculus detection.

The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the impact of faculty calibration training on intra- and interrater reliability regarding calculus detection. After IRB approval, twelve dental hygiene faculty members were recruited from a pool of twenty-two for voluntary participation and randomized into two groups. All subjects provided two pre- and two posttest scorings of calculus deposits on each of three typodonts by recording yes or no indicating if they detected calculus. Accuracy and consistency of calculus detection were evaluated using an answer key. The experimental group received three two-hour training sessions to practice a prescribed exploring sequence and technique for calculus detection. Participants immediately corrected their answers, received feedback from the trainer, and reconciled missed areas. Intra- and interrater reliability (pre- and posttest) was determined using Cohen's Kappa and compared between groups using repeated measures (split-plot) ANOVA. The groups did not differ from pre- to posttraining (intrarater reliability p=0.64; interrater reliability p=0.20). Training had no effect on reliability levels for simulated calculus detection in this study. Recommendations for future studies of faculty calibration when evaluating students include using patients for assessing rater reliability, employing larger samples at multiple sites, and assessing the impact on students' attitudes and learning outcomes.