Female Dental Hygiene Students Research Articles

Dental hygiene and dental students’ motivations for future work: a cross-sectional study of first-year students at a dental hygiene school and a dental school in Japan

BackgroundIt is important to understand the career motivations and perceptions of students who intend to become dental health professionals. Both dental and dental hygiene students may have different opinions about the profession and future work prospects. To our knowledge, no study has compared the career motivations and career perceptions of Japanese dental and dental hygiene students after admission to dental or dental hygiene school. This cross-sectional study examined the motivations of dental and dental hygiene students for their future career perceptions. MethodsFirst-year students of dental and dental hygiene schools in the academic years 2021 and 2022 participated in the study. Group 1 comprised 104 female dental hygiene students, Group 2−1 comprised 55 female dental students, and Group 2–2 comprised 61 male dental students. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted on opinions of the work and prospects of future work with four-point Likert scales ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree,” according to the items.ResultsDental hygiene students consider that they would like to work as professionals and would also like to earn efficiently. Specifically, female dental students prioritized contributing to society by working long-term in a fulfilling environment rather than earning an income, whereas male dental students would like to work as a professional while also effectively earning income.ConclusionsSmall but significant differences were found in opinions of the dental hygienist/dentist profession in terms of attractiveness and credibility. Small but significant differences were found for income and working hours when considering future job prospects. The results of this study revealed differences in the first year students between dental and dental hygiene school in their attitudes toward career motivation and prospects for future work.

Identifying an Optimal Sampling Method to Estimate Postural Risk in a Dynamic Work Task.

The Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) is an ergonomic assessment tool used to screen for risk of musculoskeletal injury due to working posture. The RULA is traditionally applied once during a work task to approximate overall risk. No method exists for estimating a RULA score for work requiring frequent shifts in posture across an extended period of time. The goal of this study was to identify an optimal sampling method for applying the RULA across a long time-period that accurately represents overall risk. Four right-handed female dental hygiene students were video recorded from three angles while performing hand scaling during patient clinic visits (88.97 minutes on average). RULA was continuously scored across the entire session, updating the score when a significant postural shift lasting for more than 15 seconds occurred. A time-weighted average (TWA) RULA score was calculated. Three sampling methods were evaluated: equivalent interval samples, random samples, and random samples selection weighted within "clock positions." Each method was compared to the TWA using a paired samples t-test and percent difference. TWA RULA across the four students ranged from 3.4 to 4.3. Preliminary sampling averages using 10 samples were all within 0.2 of the TWA. Further iterations evaluating various sample sizes is ongoing. Preliminary results suggest that all three sampling methods provide a reasonably accurate approximation of the TWA score at the sampling rate tested. Future iterations of this analysis will be continued to identify the minimum required sampling rate to meet our TWA criterion.

Efficacy of four toothbrushes on removal of plaque with modified Bass technique in Dental Hygiene Students at Cali

Summary: Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of four different designed toothbrushes (Colgate Microsonic ®, Colgate Twister Fresh®, Colgate 360 Sensitive® y Colgate 360®) to determine the clinical advantage on removal of plaque using modified Bass technique in dental hygiene students in Cali. Methods: This is a controlled clinical trial to compare the efficacy of four toothbrushes designs with different tooth brushing methods in 200 female dental hygiene students with ages from 15 to 43. Control group used any tooth brushing technique whereas test group used modified Bass technique. Follow up was made daily for 21 days with O´Leary Plaque Index. Results: Colgate Twister Fresh® toothbrush had more probability to reduce plaque index at any time of follow up period than other toothbrushes. Modified Bass technique had more chance to reduce plaque than other techniques but with no significant differences. Conclusions: there were no statistically significant differences between tooth brush techniques. None of the four designs of studied toothbrushes showed differences in regard to plaque elimination. Key words: Manual toothbrushes. Modified Bass tooth brushing technique. Dental plaque control. Oral hygiene practices.

외모만족도와 자아탄력성이 치위생(학)과 재학생의 취업스트레스에 미치는 영향

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of the appearance satisfaction and ego-resilience of dental hygiene students on their employment stress. Methods : A self-reported questionnaire was filled out by 403 female dental hygiene students in five colleges in Chungbuk-do, Gyeongnam-do, and Daejeon. Results : 1. The college students got a mean of <TEX>$2.78{\pm}0.42$</TEX>, <TEX>$3.27{\pm}0.41$</TEX> and <TEX>$2.28{\pm}0.52$</TEX> in appearance satisfaction, ego-resilience and job-seeking stress, respectively. 2. Employment stress revealed higher score in poorer financial conditions(p<0.001) and less major satisfaction(p<0.001). 3. Employment stress had a negative correlation to a physical attraction and somatic condition which were the sub-factors of appearance satisfaction. Stress also had a negative correlation to personal relationship and emotional control which were the sub-factors of ego-resilience. 4. Household economy(p=0.023) was identified as a variable that affected job-seeking stress, physical attraction(p=0.048) and somatic condition(p=0.039). Personal relationship(p=0.040) and emotional control(p=0.034) were the influential variables and had 33.2% of explanation power for employment stress. Conclusions : Appearance satisfaction and ego-resilience were the factors affecting job-seeking stress. Therefore counseling and educational programs should be provided for dental hygiene students to look at their own appearance and bodies in a more positive way, to foster their ego-resilience, to relieve and properly cope with employment stress and ultimately to promote their mental health.

Evaluation of an Academic Service‐Learning Course on Special Needs Patients for Dental Hygiene Students: A Qualitative Study

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of a service-learning course on special needs patients for dental hygiene students by considering student reflections, community site coordinators' feedback, and faculty reflections in a qualitative analysis. Twenty-three female dental hygiene students beginning their fourth semester in the program provided preventive oral health services at eight community sites serving six diverse groups of people having special health care needs. Students reflected on the experience via commentaries written in self-reflection journals. The investigators applied the constant comparative method to analyze and unitize the data, ultimately reaching consensus on three category topics: awareness, higher order thinking, and professionalism. End of course project assessments provided additional data that was used to triangulate with data from the reflective journals. Telephone interviews with the site coordinators and personal interviews with the course faculty provided data from multiple perspectives. The outcomes of this study suggest that service-learning pedagogy can facilitate a deeper understanding of the subject matter and provide an opportunity for students to use critical thinking strategies in addition to becoming aware of complex social and professional issues related to the oral health care of individuals with special needs.

Bleeding on probing as it relates to probing pressure and gingival health

The present study was designed to determine the threshold pressure value to be applied in provoking bleeding on probing (BOP) in clinically healthy gingival units. 12 female dental hygiene students volunteered for the study. They were selected on the basis of excellent oral hygiene standards, absence of probing depths greater than 3 mm and absence of caries or dental restorations on smooth and proximal tooth surfaces. Applying a probing force of 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1.0 N in one of the 4 jaw quadrants, respectively, on 2 different occasions with an interval of 10 days, bleeding on probing was assessed. Oral hygiene and gingival conditions were determined using the criteria of the plaque control record and the gingival index. On the basis of the BOP values, obtained using the lowest probing force (0.25 N), the subjects were divided into 2 groups: group 1 ("minimal BOP" value) consisted of 6 subjects yielding practically no bleeding (mean BOP = 0.9%) at both examinations, while the subjects of group 2 ("low BOP" value) had slightly higher BOP% (mean BOP = 13.4%). Both groups showed significant increase in mean BOP% with increasing probing force (0.9%-36.1% in group 1 and 13.4%-47.0% in group 2). Regression analysis revealed an almost linear correlation and a high correlation coefficient between BOP% and probing force. The comparison of the regression lines of the 2 groups showed almost identical slope inclination. However, slight differences in slope inclination were found for different sites: approximal sites clearly yielded steeper regression lines than buccal/oral sites.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The Effects of Psychological Stress on Electromyographic Activity and Negative Affect in Ambulatory Tension‐Type Headache Patients

Fourteen female dental hygiene students (seven with episodic tension-type headache and seven who rarely or never experienced headache) wore an ambulatory electromyographic recorder and completed hourly subjective ratings of pain and negative affective states for six days while they carried out their normal daily activities. Three of the days were designated as high stress days by virtue of the fact that the students were required to take a major course examination or undergo a clinical evaluation on that day. The remaining three days were designated as low stress days by virtue of the fact that no unusual demands were made on the students, and they simply attended lectures as usual. All students showed significantly greater levels of electromyographic activity on the high stress days compared to the low stress days, but there was not a statistically significant difference between the headache and control groups. Headache group subjects reported significantly higher levels of pain compared to the control group, but their pain ratings did not differ between high and low stress days. Subjective ratings of negative affective states (anxiety, anger, sadness, and frustration) were significantly greater on high stress days compared to low stress days. Headache group subjects also exhibited a tendency to report higher levels of negative affective states than did control group subjects, but only in the case of frustration was the .05 level of statistical significance achieved.

Observations on Temperature and Temperature Patterns of the Gingiva: I. The Effect of Arch, Region and Health

The purpose of this investigation was to study the pattern and constancy of temperatures recorded in the gingival crevices and some factors affecting them. The temperatures of the interproximal crevices in the maxillary and mandibular arch of 16 female dental hygiene students were evaluated at the time of examination, immediately afterwards and following a 14-day interval. The temperature difference between each site and the subject's sublingual temperature were calculated. In the analysis, a comparison of sites with a confirmed status of bleeding tendency and pocket depth was carried out. The results show temperature differences between arches (mandible vs maxilla) and regions (posterior vs anterior). The differences are independent of the health status. Inflamed gingiva generally has a higher temperature than clinically healthy gingiva. There is an indication that healthy tissue, more than inflamed tissue, reacts to an outside stimulus with an increase in temperature. It is necessary that environmental and stimulative factors are strictly controlled if temperature gradients are to be applied for diagnostic purposes in periodontics.

An assessment of the sex-role status of dental hygienists located in three states.

This study assessed the psychological androgyny of female dental hygiene students. The Bem Sex-role Inventory was administered to 38 dental hygiene students at the University of Oklahoma, 34 at Baylor University, and 23 at Louisiana State University. About 26% of the students at Baylor and LSU were classified as undifferentiated and 21% at Oklahoma. Baylor students had the highest combined proportion (55.9%) classified as androgynous or undifferentiated. However, employing Bem's traditional subtractive method, the majority of subjects in all groups were classified as either near-feminine or feminine. Similarity of classification among these groups was demonstrated by non-significant differences for androgynous, masculine, and feminine scores. This study demonstrates that place of geographic residence and training locations have little impact upon influencing the sex-role status for female dental hygienists.

The role of psychological androgyny in female students' dental career choices

Studies of the characteristics of graduate students in several made-dominated and female-dominated disciplines suggest that expressivity and instrumentality are related to career choices. The Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) was administered to female dental and dental hygiene students to determine whether female dental students are stereotypically androgynous and differ from female dental hygiene students in their sex-role behavior and preference. The rationale for this assumption was based on the relatively female exclusiveness of the dental hygiene profession and the notable male dominance of dentistry. The female dental hygiene students were classified by their self-description as being predominantly feminine, the female dental students by their self-description as androgynous. The differences as measured by the BSRI were statistically significant (p = .007).