Oral health literacy education and practice in US dental hygiene programs: A national survey.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: Studies have shown a significant relationship between low oral health literacy (OHL) and poor oral health outcomes. National calls for action include better training of dental providers to meet the needs of the low OHL public. The purpose of this research was to determine the extent OHL education is being included in US dental hygiene (DH) education programs. METHODS: In fall of 2020, a 23-item digital survey was sent to 321 Commission on Dental Accreditation-accredited DH schools in the US. RESULTS: Survey generated 90 eligible responses (28%). Respondents reported that OHL education is being included in DH curricula to some degree. Communication strategies (82.4%) were the most likely OHL concept to be taught. Subject areas included community health (89%), cultural competency (78%), and special populations (78%). Respondents ranked lack of assessment instruments, lack of concrete activities, lack of clear understanding of OHL, and difficulty in implementing OHL concepts as the top barriers to incorporating OHL education in the DH curriculum. CONCLUSION(S): OHL is an established determinant of oral health. As prevention and patient education experts, dental hygienists play an important role in improving patient OHL. More fully integrating OHL into DH curricula would provide future DHs with the training needed to improve oral health outcomes and would better align DH education programs with national OHL initiatives.

Using business intelligence and data visualization to understand the characteristics of failed appointments in dental school clinics.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: Broken appointments are an important cause of waste in health care. Patients who fail to attend incur costs to providers, deny trainees learning opportunities, and impact their own health as well as that of other patients who are waiting for care. METHODS: A total of 410,000 appointment records over 3 years were extracted from our electronic health record. We conducted exploratory data analysis and assessed correlations between appointment no-shows and other attributes of the appointment and the patient. The University of Michigan Medical School's Committee on Human Research reviewed the study and deemed that no Institutional Review Board oversight was necessary for this quality improvement project that was, retrospectively, turned into a study with previously de-identified data. RESULTS: The patient's previous attendance record is the single most significant correlation with attendance. We found that patients who said they are "scared" of dental visits were 62% as likely to attend as someone reporting "no problem." Patients over 65 years of age have better attendance rates. There was a positive association between receiving email/text confirmation and attendance. A total of 94.9% of those emailed a reminder and 92.2% of those who were texted attended their appointment. CONCLUSION(S): We were able to identify relationships of several variables to failed and attended appointments that we were previously unknown to us. This knowledge enabled us to implement interventions to support better attendance at Dental Clinics at the University of Michigan, improving patient health, student training, and efficient use of resources.

Effectiveness of an Educational Module on Dental Hygiene Students' Attitudes Towards Persons with Disabilities.

Purpose: Persons with disabilities (PWDs) perceive gaps in health care providers' understanding of their health care needs are more likely to delay or not seek health care as compared to persons without disabilities. Oral health is considered an essential component of overall health, however, disparities exist in the United States, especially for persons with disabilities. Improving the education and training of dentists and dental hygienists may contribute to reducing oral health care barriers for PWDs. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether offering an education module about individuals with disabilities would change dental hygiene students' attitudes and capacity for informed empathy for PWDs.Methods: An educational module utilizing a DVD featuring authentic representation of PWDs, along with student discussions and self-reflection was developed and delivered to 165 (n=165) dental hygiene students attending a 2-year community college and a 4-year university. Students consenting to participate in the study were assessed regarding their attitudes and comfort towards caring for PWDs prior to, and following the educational module. Pre- and post-assessment measures included the validated Attitude Toward Disabled Persons, and Attitudes toward Patient Advocacy Microsocial (AMIA) scale. The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) was used as a pre-assessment measure.Results: A total of 58 (n=58) dental hygiene students, 35 (n=35) from a 4-year university and 23 (n=23) from a 2-year community college, consented for this study, for an overall participation rate of 35%. Scores increased significantly for both student groups after delivering the education module on the AMIA patient advocacy scale. Differences in IRI scores between the 2-year and 4-year dental hygiene programs approached statistical significance.Conclusion: An education module based on informed empathy with a focus on the experiences of PWDs can result in improved attitudes toward advocacy for this population.