Periodontal staging and grading: An international dental hygiene education survey.

OBJECTIVES: The 2017 World Workshop on the Classification of Periodontal and Peri-Implant Diseases and Conditions ushered in a new paradigm for assessing and classifying periodontal diseases. This has significant implications for dental hygiene (DH) education programs' curricula. The purpose of this international survey was to assess: if and how accredited DH education programs were integrating the new staging and grading system into their curricula, and program directors' perceptions of the barriers and benefits to integration and teaching it. METHODS: This study was deemed exempt from IRB oversight. A total of 339 undergraduate DH program directors from the US, Canada and Australia that had similar accreditation standards were recruited for the survey. An electronic survey was developed and disseminated via QualtricsXM . Survey design included demographics and other questions to assess program directors' knowledge, understanding, integration of and barriers to implementing the new staging and grading system into their curricula. RESULTS: A total of 140 surveys were completed, for a response rate of 42%. Results showed that 91% of DH education programs had integrated the new staging and grading system into their curricula. DH didactic/theory courses (99%) and clinical courses (94%) were the curricular areas hosting the content. There was a statistically significant difference in the confidence of teaching the staging and grading system across institutional settings (p = 0.02). The three main benefits identified were the consideration of expected disease progression (3.25 ± 2.06), individual risk factors (3.45 ± 1.73) and personalized treatment (4.04 ± 2.20). The most frequently reported barrier was the lack of faculty support (26%). CONCLUSION: DH educators have implemented the new staging and grading system into their clinical and didactic curricula. DH educators valued the individual, patient-specific components of the new system. While educators were confident in integrating the new system, those at community and technical colleges were less confident in teaching the system.

Dental hygiene educators' knowledge and implementation of objective structured clinical examination in United States dental hygiene programs.

PURPOSE: In 2021, the American Dental Association (ADA) announced the intention to develop a standardized dental hygiene licensure objective structured clinical examination (DHLOSCE). The purpose of this study was to measure the United States (US) dental hygiene (DH) educators' foundational knowledge of OSCE development and delivery in light of the impending development of the DHLOSCE by the ADA's Testing Services. METHODS: The study was determined to be exempt from Institutional Review Board oversight. A 21-question survey was developed, pilot tested, and electronically disseminated through Qualtrics. The survey recruitment was emailed to the directors of all entry-level DH education programs in the US (n = 328), asking them to participate in the survey and to forward it to the clinical faculty in their institutions. Descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized to analyze the data. RESULTS: There were 143 study participants, for a completion rate of 45%. Over two-thirds of respondents (64%) were unaware of the plans to develop the DHLOSCE, while 13% reported utilizing OSCEs to meet accreditation standards. Only 3% reported receiving a formal education in OSCE development compared to 29% who learned through a colleague or peer. Nearly half reported a lack of faculty experience as a barrier to OSCE implementation. Over three-quarters, 76% reported a lack of OCSE development committees within their program and only 14% had experience developing an OSCE station. CONCLUSION: The study results suggest an urgent need for the development of OSCE training resources specific to DH education, as programs across the US prepare for the impending DHLOSCE.