The awareness of dental hygienist regarding the content of clinical practice education and importance of duty

Chang-Hee Kim   Sun-Jung Shin1   Myong-Suk Shin2,*   

Department of Radiation Convergence Science, College of Medical Science, General Graduate School of Konyang University
1Department of Dental Hygiene, College of Medical Science, Konyang University
2Department of Dental Hygiene, College of Medical Science, Konyang University

Abstract

Objectives: This study analyzed the perception towards clinical practice education content held by dental hygiene students in dental institutions and their perceived importance of dental hygienists’ clinical duties. Methods: The subjects of this study were 182 dental hygienists who were working at dental institutions in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Chungcheong areas. A survey was conducted with a self-administered questionnaire. In the questionnaire, the clinical practice contents were classified into observation, preparation, and performance, and the importance of clinical duty was measured with a 3-point scale. For the clinical practice contents and the importance of duty, descriptive statistics and chi-square test were performed, and the study results were analyzed using STATA 11.0. Results: With regard to clinical practice contents, observation was mainly performed in oral & maxillofacilal radiology, preventive dentistry, periodontal medicine and oral medicine. In primary care and infection control, practice and observation were mainly performed. In the department of orthodontics and pediatric dentistry, observation and preparation were mainly conducted, while in oral surgery, conservative dentistry observation, preparation and practice were all conducted. With regard to clinical practice contents according to the dental institution, there were statistically significant differences in the type of dental institution and the duty (p>0.05). In terms of the importance of dental hygienist’s duty, infection control, toothbrushing education for each patient, removal of plaque, and patient education after surgery were considered important. Conclusions: For clinical practice of the dental hygiene department, the education contents should be standardized in accordance with the importance of the dental hygienist’s duty, a protocol for operation of practice should be developed, and a method of standardization of evaluation should be sought in the future.

Acknowledgements

본 연구는 2015년도 충청대학교의 연구비 지원으로 이루어졌음.

Figures & Tables

Table 1. General characteristics of the subjects