The Effect of Dental Hygiene Process in a University on Meta-Cognition Level, Critical Thinking, and Problem Solving Ability

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to verify and confirm that classes through practice in the dental hygiene process are effective in changing the meta-cognitive level, critical thinking, and problem-solving ability of dental hygiene students. Methods: The study involved 111 fourth-year students of the department of dental hygiene of a university located within Busan metropolitan city, who attended a practice course in the dental hygiene process from May to November 2019. The participants were asked to respond to a questionnaire three times (before, during, and after the course). Data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics ver. 25.0 for Windows. The level of statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results: The metacognitive level score was 4.75 points before, 4.89 points during, and 5.24 points after the practice in the clinical dental hygiene process (p < 0.001). The critical thinking score was 3.44 points before, 3.62 points during, and 3.70 points after the practice (p < 0.001). The problem-solving ability score was 3.64 points before, 3.69 points during, and 3.92 points after the practice (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Learning through the clinical dental hygiene process has been shown to be effective in changing meta-cognitive level, critical thinking and improving problem-solving ability.