Dental Hygiene Curriculum Research Articles

Validity assessment for competency development in clinical dental hygiene education based on dental hygiene process of care

Objectives: Before implementing a competency-based clinical dental hygiene curriculum, it is essential to establish competency development as a foundational educational objective. Therefore, this study aimed to develop the competency of clinical dental hygiene with secured validity using the Delphi survey method. Methods: Dental hygiene competencies were categorized within the dental hygiene process stages, and questions were formulated accordingly. A Delphi survey involving ten qualified experts was conducted to refine the final items based on their review opinions. Results: The expert Delphi survey confirmed that all items met stability criteria, with CVI values of 0.80 or higher, CVR values of 0.60 or higher, and a CV coefficient of variation of 0.5 or less. In total, 42 items were derived. Conclusions: Clinical dental hygiene can contribute to developing specialized dental hygienists if the competencies derived from this study are well applied to the standardized curriculum and operations.

The need for cannabis education in dental hygiene programs.

Cannabis and the endocannabinoid system (ESC) are rarely included in training programs for healthcare providers. Knowledge within the medical and dental health professionals is lacking regarding the treatment of patients using medical or recreational cannabis. Patients are unaware of the risks associated with cannabis use, and healthcare providers should be prepared to assess, educate, and treat the patients who use cannabis. With the increased legalization and use of cannabis for medical and recreational purposes across the US, this study demonstrated the lack of cannabis education provided in dental hygiene programs. In 2021, an online survey was conducted with 327 dental hygiene program directors. Respondents were asked to answer 26 questions. With a 21% response rate and 100% completion rate, 60% of the participants responded that cannabis content was provided in their dental hygiene program, 38% responded with a "no," and one responded with "I do not know." No significant difference was found regardless of whether cannabis was legal in the state for medical or recreational use and whether the cannabis content was included in the dental hygiene curriculum. The results indicate that every dental hygiene program should provide cannabis content, and each patient should receive a cannabis assessment at every dental hygiene appointment. Further research is required to identify standardized educational content on cannabis and the ESC, which will enable educators to teach students. The development and implementation of a standardized cannabis use assessment and the creation of standardized recommendations for patients who use cannabis to alleviate adverse oral health effects are important.

Teledentistry content in Canadian dental and dental hygiene curricula.

To explore the extent to which teledentistry (TD) content is incorporated into Canadian dental and dental hygiene curricula. An anonymous survey was distributed among all 10 dental and 35 dental hygiene programs across Canada in June and July 2022. The survey focused on TD teaching (methods employed, content taught, and barriers to TD education), with descriptive (frequency, maximum, minimum, mean) and inferential (Pearson chi-square for odds ratio test) data analyses using SPSS. A ρ - value<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Thirty-four programs responsed to the survey, including all dental (n=10) and 68% (n=24) of dental hygiene programs; eighteen reported having TD content, including three dental programs. An average of 9.22±4.86h was reported for teaching TD, with lecture format as the most employed approach and using TD in dental practice as the most covered topic. While 53% of the dental hygiene programs employed formative and summative assessments, only one dental program reported having assessment for this content. Moreover, programs that dedicated less than 9 h to teaching this content were less likely to address more than seven topics (Odds ratio (OR)=0.14). The dental and dental hygiene programs in Canada differ in their offering TD education, and 30% of the dental and 62.5% of the surveyed dental hygiene programs addressed TD content. This scarcity emphasizes the necessity for incorporating such content in future curriculum planning to consequently decrease the lack of knowledge, an identified barrier to TD implementation in education and practice, as today's students will be future educators.

A conceptual model using CliftonStrengths® to support dental hygiene students' professional development.

Professional development is instrumental in the ongoing success of healthcare professionals and students. The purpose of the second year of this 2-year study was to continue to apply the results from the CliftonStrengths® assessment to support entry-level dental hygiene students' professional development and to create a conceptual model for professional development in dental hygiene education. CliftonStrengths® was incorporated into didactic and community learning experiences throughout year two of the dental hygiene curriculum. At the end of year two, focus group interviews assessed student perceptions of professional strengths based on these learning experiences. Co-investigators used a qualitative analysis software program to identify codes and themes. Investigator triangulation and member checks were used to validate responses. All second-year dental hygiene students (n = 32) participated in year two of the study. Two themes were identified: relevance of CliftonStrengths® and professional development. Within the theme of relevance, the subthemes of adaptability, making connections and teamwork emerged. The theme of professional development yielded three subthemes: appreciation, personal and professional identity and insight. This study demonstrated CliftonStrengths® can be used to promote professional development among dental hygiene students. As a result, a conceptual model was developed for professional development in dental hygiene education. This model can be used as a framework for teaching and to improve student learning experiences.

Development and evaluation of simulation-based scenario education program for professional oral hygiene care in intubated patient.

This study was conducted to develop a professional oral hygiene care (POHC) simulation education program for intubated patients and to evaluate the suitability of education by evaluating the performance confidence (PC), critical thinking disposition (CT), and learning satisfaction (LS) of dental hygiene students. This study developed a POHC simulation education program (theory, skill training, scenario education, and debriefing) for intubated patients through expert validation and consisted of a single-group pre- and postexperiment design. The subjects were 3rd and 4th year students at the Department of Dental Hygiene in Wonju City, and a total of 30 people were enrolled. The collected data were analyzed using the PASW Statistics version 23.0. The content validity test was measured by the CVI (Content validity index) value, and the PC, CT, and LS of the subjects before and after participating in the program were analyzed using a paired t-test. The significance level (α) was based on .05. After the program, the PC improved from 4.29±0.43 to 4.54±0.44, and there was a significant difference (p=.004). CT improved from 3.73±0.36 to 3.84±0.36, but there was no significant difference (p=.062), and prudence improved from 4.21±0.33 to 4.43±0.27, and there was significant difference. (p=.001). LS increased from 4.66±0.36 to 4.90±0.16 after education, and there was a significant difference (p=.002). Simulation education program improved dental hygiene students' POHC performance confidence. Various scenarios will need to be developed in the future, and it is necessary to evaluate simulation education within the dental hygiene curriculum and identify areas for improvement.

Student exchange possibilities: Acquiring intercultural competence within an inflexible dental hygiene curriculum.

The author states that there is no conflict of interests.

Integration of tobacco treatment specialist (TTS) training into dental and dental hygiene curricula.

Integration of tobacco treatment specialist (TTS) training into dental and dental hygiene curricula.

Evaluating an interprofessional pharmacy and dental hygiene case-based learning activity with student reflections

Background and purposeInterprofessional collaboration between dentistry and pharmacy has great value but is often lacking in didactic and experiential education, particularly in dental hygiene programs. Educational activity and settingA case-based interprofessional assignment was implemented into the dental hygiene curriculum. Students reflected on their experiences and completed the International Collaborative Competencies Attainment Survey (ICCAS) to assess changes in self-reported interprofessional competencies following the activity. FindingsReflections revealed knowledge gain themes, with medication-related oral health concerns most frequent (53), followed by systemic adverse effects of medications (31), impact of systemic health on oral health (21), drug-drug interactions (17), and drug information (2). Additionally, students identified both future plans to collaborate with a pharmacist (25) and application of clinical knowledge gained (25). Scores from the ICCAS increased significantly in most of the domain statements following the interprofessional activity. DiscussionThis interprofessional education (IPE) activity increased student knowledge of the pharmacy profession and provided an experience with interprofessional communication. Students identified the impact of medications on oral health, as well as the value of interprofessional collaboration and communication. SummaryThis IPE activity positively impacted student perceptions of interprofessional collaboration with pharmacists.

Korean dental hygiene students' perceptions and attitudes toward artificial intelligence: An online survey.

This study investigated Korean dental hygiene students' perceptions and attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI) and aimed to identify needs for education to strengthen professional competencies. A 24-question online survey was conducted to the dental hygiene students from four Korean schools in 2021. The questionnaire included seven questions on basic characteristics and 17 AI-related questions on the student's attitudes toward AI, the confidence in AI, predictions about AI, and its future prospects. Responses were analyzed according to the frequencies and correlations between the participants' subjective level of knowledge about AI and questions using chi-square test. Invitations were sent out to 1310 students and 800 (61.1%) participated. Note that 44.2% of participants were interested in AI, and 93.1% accessed AI-related information through the internet. Participants expressed lower confidence in AI's diagnosis (14.8%) and judgment (8.1%) than in those of humans, and 21.9% believed AI would replace their job. The proportions of participants with positive perceptions of the usefulness and the potential for improvement of AI in dentistry were 65.5% and 55.4%, respectively. Participants from schools who had existing AI knowledge expressed higher demands for AI-related content as compared to those who did not (p < 0.05). Although dental hygiene students expressed low level of confidence in AI, they were interested in AI and had positive views of its application and potential for improvement. However, the fact they had little AI-related information from dental hygiene curriculum strongly suggests the need for AI-related lectures in schools to prepare for the future.

Short Communication: Links between Dental Hygiene Curriculum and Dental Hygiene Task Analysis

Short Communication: Links between Dental Hygiene Curriculum and Dental Hygiene Task Analysis

Development of Nutritional Biochemistry Learning Goals and Core Competencies in the Dental Hygiene Curriculum

Development of Nutritional Biochemistry Learning Goals and Core Competencies in the Dental Hygiene Curriculum

Interprofessional Collaboration Among Dental Hygiene and Nursing Students on the Oral Health of Cancer Patients.

One third of patients diagnosed with cancer develop oral complications during cancer treatment. Health care professionals play an important role in the management of patients undergoing cancer therapies; however, optimal oral care for cancer patients is often missing from nursing and dental hygiene curricula. A quasi-experimental mixed-methods study was conducted with accelerated bachelor of nursing and dental hygiene students following a presentation and small-group case review. Pre/post surveys and findings from a debriefing session showed increased confidence to screen, counsel, and refer patients between disciplines compared to a control group.

Monitoring Students’ Self-assessment of Perceived Competence in a Competence-based Dental Hygiene Curriculum: A Case Study

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify changes in the competency level of dental hygiene students and evaluate the a competency-based curriculum. Methods: A survey was conducted on the self-assessment 29 students from second to fourth grades in the Department of Dental Hygiene. Results: Both core and detailed competencies improved smoothly over the semester, and at the end of the second semester of the fourth-grade students, all competencies improved to a level of eight points or more. Conclusions: The findings confirmed that the level of self-competency evaluation was improved according to the target curriculum, and the overall class operation was evaluated positively.

Development of Rubrics for Dental Hygienists' Competence: Based Dental Hygiene Process

Objectives: This study aims to secure the basic data for developing a rubric as an assessment tool to be applied to or used for the dental hygiene curriculum and develop an assessment rubric by steps of ‘dental hygiene management process’. Methods: The rubric was developed after literature review based on dental hygienists Competence and the dental hygiene process. Results: The development of the ‘dental hygiene management process’ assessment rubric was conducted to allow learners to spontaneously determine the direction of their own learning, understand their learning levels and reach their academic achievement levels, based on the performance standard and level of dental hygienists tasks. Conclusions: The ‘dental hygiene management process’ assessment rubric can motivate learners to receive fair evaluation and feedback about their learning levels and enhance their academic achievement, and would be used as a reliable assessment tool by securing the equity and validity in the evaluation of ‘dental hygiene management process’.

Psychometric Characteristics of Oral Pathology Test Items in the Dental Hygiene Curriculum-A Longitudinal Analysis.

As the landscape of oral healthcare and the delivery of services continue to undergo change, the dental hygienist plays an increasing role in assisting dentists with oral diagnosis and preventive strategies. Hence, the dental hygiene curriculum standards require biomedical science instructions, including general and oral pathology. Student learning and cognitive competencies are often measured using multiple-choice questions (MCQs). The objectives of this study were to perform a longitudinal analysis of test items and to evaluate their relation to the absolute grades of the oral pathology course in the dental hygiene curriculum. A total of 1033 MCQs covering different concepts of oral pathology administered from 2015 through 2019 were analyzed for difficulty and discriminatory indices, and the differences between the years were determined by one-way ANOVA. Test reliability as determined by the average KR-20 value was 0.7 or higher for each exam. The mean difficulty index for all exams was 0.73 +/− 0.05, and that of the discriminatory index was 0.33 +/− 0.05. Wide variations were observed in the discriminatory indices of test items with approximately the same difficulty index, as well as in the grade distribution in each cohort. Furthermore, longitudinal data analyses identified low achieving cohorts amongst the groups evaluated for the same knowledge domain, taught with the same instruction, and using similar test tools. This suggest that comparative analyses of tests could offer feedback not only on student learning attributes, but also potentially on the admission processes to the dental hygiene program.

Comparison of Korea, Australia and New Zealand dental hygiene curriculum operation

Objectives: After comparing the operations of the dental hygiene curriculum in Australia, New Zealand, and Korea, this study attempted to find areas for improvement as well as possible complementary aspects in Korea’s curriculum. Methods: To compare the dental hygiene curriculums in Australia, New Zealand, and Korea, four universities in Australia, two universities in New Zealand, and 10 universities in Korea were selected. Results: The curriculums in Australia and New Zealand were operated as integrated education by level, with various subjects that are related to clinical practice. By contrast, in Korea, specific subjects were taught every semester. Conclusions: Through this study, it was confirmed that there is a need to revise the contents of the curriculum to demonstrate the competencies of Korean dental hygienists. It is necessary to conduct an in-depth examination of the direction of dental hygiene education in Korea and discuss the scope of work and competencies.

Association between vocational expertise and comprehension dental hygiene curriculum on some dental hygienists

Association between vocational expertise and comprehension dental hygiene curriculum on some dental hygienists

Association between vocational expertise and comprehension dental hygiene curriculum on some dental hygienists

Objectives: This study was to examine the association between vocational expertise and the comprehension dental hygiene curriculum in some dental hygienists Methods: The survey was composed of 6 questions on the general characteristics of the study subjects, 10 questions regarding vocational expertise, and 10 questions regarding comprehension dental hygiene curriculum. SPSS 26.0 was used. Descriptive statistics analysis, t－test and correlation analysis were conducted and the significancy level set at 0.05. Results: There was a positive association between vocational expertise and comprehension dental hygiene curriculum in some dental hygienists. In univariate analysis, vocational expertise was significantly associated with satisfaction major(p＜0.001). The comprehension dental hygiene curriculum was also significantly associated with gender, career and satisfaction major(p=0.028, 0.041, ＜0.001). Conclusions: Therefore, this study can be used as basic data to improve vocational expertise and comprehension dental hygiene curriculum in dental hygienists.

An innovative interprofessional dental clinical learning environment using entrustable professional activities.

IntroductionChanges in society, new public demands for dental care and contemporary educational insights have influenced dental education worldwide and demand a renewed perspective. Following this perspective, an innovative interprofessional dental Master curriculum was developed at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands.Educational principlesThe curriculum is based on five contemporary educational principles and the core of the curriculum consists of a Student Run Dental Clinic that is fully run by students under professional supervision.The new curriculumIn the Student Run Dental Clinic, Master dental students and Bachelor oral hygiene students are responsible for the care of approximately 750 patients. The students work within the same clinic for 3 years and patients receive oral health care from the same students over a long period. The clinic is a longitudinal cross‐disciplinary clinic with different dental subdisciplines.Entrustable professional activities (also known as EPAs), to our knowledge not yet widely used in dental education, were introduced to facilitate learning and assessment. Fourteen EPAs have been developed to stimulate interprofessional education and learning. Of these, five EPAs are identical for the dental and oral hygiene curriculum, leading to extended interprofessional education and learning in the Student Run Dental Clinic.DiscussionPreliminary results show that EPAs are generally well received by supervisors and students.ConclusionTo monitor and investigate the exact effect of the interventions and underlying mechanisms, a research programme on interprofessional learning, practice‐based learning and EPAs and entrustment in dental education was recently set up.

Current status of dental hygiene curriculum related to clinical practice for dental hygienists in some universities

Current status of dental hygiene curriculum related to clinical practice for dental hygienists in some universities