Abstract
BackgroundPeople with poor OHL have the highest level of oral diseases and the worst oral treatment results. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the degree of knowledge of the role of the dental hygienist in patients who go to a public dental facility for the first time.Material and MethodsA semi-structured questionnaire was administered to the patients with the “face-to-face” mode during a 12-month period. The principal component analysis, the general linear model and the chi-square test were used for the statistical analysis.ResultsA total number of 900 questionnaires were completed. Sixty-seven per cent of patients know that a specific degree is needed to practice dentistry and 93.1% of them know that a specific educational qualification is required to practice the dental hygienist profession. Sixty-three per cent of the subjects were aware of dental hygienist’s activities. There is no patient preference of gender as far as both dentist (84.11%) and dental hygienist (85.11%) are concerned. Seventy-five per cent of patients claimed to know what “dental hygiene” means and 65% of them believed that a good level of oral hygiene was important for oral disease prevention. Both qualification and marital status of patients are significantly associated with the patient’s level of knowledge of the dental hygienist profession. Patients with “High” scholastic qualifications showed significantly higher scores than those with “Low” qualifications. Married patients have less knowledge than widows/widowers, while divorced patients have greater knowledge than widows/widowers.ConclusionsPatients’ educational qualification itself only partially justifies the apparent high level of knowledge of patients about the dental hygienist’s role. Key words:Oral disease prevention, dental professional qualification, public dental knowledge, patient educational qualification, dental hygienist, oral heath literacy, public dental facility.
Highlights
Oral Health Literacy (OHL) can be defined as people’s knowledge of diseases, diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities, professionals and facilities which provide oral and dental treatments, able to influence their decisions and behavior concerning oral health [1,2,3,4,5,6]
The main aim of the present study was to investigate the degree of knowledge of the role of the dental hygienist within the dental team in patients who go to a public dental facility for the first time
The quantitative dependent variables were: “Do you know what educational qualifications are required to practice dentistry?” (0-3 Score); “Do you know what dental hygiene means? If yes, what?” (0-4 Score); “Is an educational qualification needed to practice the dental hygienist profession? If yes, what?” (0-4 Score); ” Do you know what a dental hygienist is concerned with? If yes, what? (0-5 Score); “How many times a year do you undergo dental examinations? “ (1-4 Score); “In preventing which of the following oral diseases do you think that good oral hygiene is important?” (1-5 Score)
Summary
Oral Health Literacy (OHL) can be defined as people’s knowledge of diseases, diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities, professionals and facilities which provide oral and dental treatments, able to influence their decisions and behavior concerning oral health [1,2,3,4,5,6]. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the degree of knowledge of the role of the dental hygienist in patients who go to a public dental facility for the first time. Seventy-five per cent of patients claimed to know what “dental hygiene” means and 65% of them believed that a good level of oral hygiene was important for oral disease prevention. Both qualification and marital status of patients are significantly associated with the patient’s level of knowledge of the dental hygienist profession. Conclusions: Patients’ educational qualification itself only partially justifies the apparent high level of knowledge of patients about the dental hygienist’s role
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