INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study is to understand dental utilization of 1) individuals serving/having served in active duty in the U.S. military as compared with the general public and 2) individuals who are currently serving as compared with individuals who are no longer active duty, but have been in active duty within the previous year. METHODS The Behavior and Risk Surveillance Surve...

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to survey entry-level dental hygiene program directors in the United States (U.S.) to assess their perceptions of dental hygienists with visible tattoos as well as to determine current policies related to dress codes in U.S. dental hygiene programs.Methods: Data was collected with an online survey emailed to 340 dental hygiene program directors yielding a ...

The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of academic integrity violations reported by a national sample of dental hygiene students as compared to general undergraduate students. This study also examined the influence of student variables such as gender, age, and level of education, along with honor codes and other contextual factors, on academic integrity. A total of 2,050 surve...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to collect baseline data pertaining to the oral health of Hispanics residing in Siler City, NC, a microcosm of the flourishing Latino growth found especially in the southeastern United States. METHODS A convenience sample of 158 Hispanic adults was recruited. A 41-item Spanish language survey was utilized. Questions addressed preventive oral health practi...

Engaging other health care providers in oral health-related activities and interprofessional care (IPC) could increase access to oral health care for underserved populations in the U.S. The aims of this study were to assess dental hygiene, dental, and medical students' intra- and interprofessional and oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS)/hospital dentistry-related knowledge/skills, attitudes, ...

Proper hand hygiene is acknowledged as the most critical element of an adequate infection control program in the oral healthcare setting. However, adherence to proper hand hygiene protocols is often lacking. Poor compliance with hand hygiene protocols has been attributed to such factors as lack of time, hand irritation, hand dryness, forgetfulness, skepticism over importance, understaffing, per...

INTRODUCTION The US Public Health Service calls for health professionals to provide tobacco dependence counseling for patients. The purpose of this study was to understand how dental hygiene programs make decisions about and provide training for tobacco dependence counseling to help them graduate more fully competent hygienists. METHODS We conducted interviews (N = 32) with mainly program and...

In Sweden, the National Board of Health and Welfare forecasts a decrease in dentists with 26% and an increase in dental hygienists with 47% until the year of 2023. This, together with changes in both epidemiology, especially of dental caries, and political priorities, calls for an effective and well-developed cooperation between dentists and dental hygienists in future dentistry. Hence, the aim...

BACKGROUND A growing body of epidemiologic evidence links oral health, obesity, and cardiovascular health, though few studies have reported on these relationships in children. While underlying mechanisms are unclear, adult studies have suggested sub-acute systemic inflammation, also implicated in the etiology of both obesity and cardiovascular disease. This study investigated associations betwe...

The elderly are the nation's fastest-growing population, and the number of elder abuse victims has reached epidemic proportions. In Texas, dentists and dental hygienists are mandated by law to report suspected abuse. This study surveyed Texas dental hygienists regarding elder abuse education received in dental hygiene school and post-graduation. Respondents were also asked to self-assess their ...