The elderly population in Sweden is growing and as a result of that, society is facing different types of challenges. Oral hygiene is important for preventing oral disease but also for the general health (GH). A goal for the Swedish dental society is that every inhabitant should have an equal right to dental-care and oral health (OH) under the same conditions. This is not only a challenge for dental staff but also for medical and healthcare personnel. Our hypothesis is that nursing staff do not possess the education needed regarding oral hygiene, especially not in relation to GH. The opinions regarding support for nursing staff differ between nursing staff and managers. This study was conducted through questionnaire interviews with managers and nursing staff at geriatric homes in three municipalities in the county of Västerbotten. Questions were asked about education and routines, performance of oral care, and OH linked to GH. Response frequencies were compared between municipalities, professions, and response options. A significant lower part (p <0.001) of nursing staff found that non-existing oral care could cause suffering in the form of general disease than in the form of oral disease. The opinion differs between managers and staff in questions about established routines (p <0.05). This study indicates that knowledge about relationships between oral and general health might be inadequate and that education is both wanted and needed among nursing staff. More extensive studies, and studies about how dental professions could support nursing staff in a better way is desirable.

Ziel dieser Publikation soll es sein, der/m Behandler/in fundiertes Grundwissen bzgl. des Ölziehens zu vermitteln. Darüber hinaus wird die aktuelle Studienlage dargestellt, es werden Trends aufgezeigt und das Risiko der Lipidpneumonie erläutert. Die Autoren kommen zu dem Ergebnis, dass es derzeit geringe Evidenz für einen positiven Nutzen des Ölziehens gibt, sodass weiterführende Studien auf diesem Gebiet notwendig sind. Über das sehr geringe Risiko einer Lipidpneumonie bei nicht korrekter Anwendung sollten die Patientinnen und Patienten aufgeklärt werden. / This publication should provide the practitioner with sound basic knowledge about oil pulling. In addition, the authors present the current study situation, show trends and explain the risk of lipoid pneumonia. The limited evidence to date from clinical trials suggest that oil pulling may have beneficial effects, therefore more studies are necessary to prove beneficial effects on orodental hygiene. Furthermore, patients should be informed about the risk of lipoid pneumonia if used incorrectly.

Oral health is strongly correlated to systemic health in the United States. Dental professionals play a significant role in addressing the oral health and prevention of disease for populations in the United States. Because many areas in the United States lack access to dental care, the federal government considers dental hygienists part of the solution. It is now paying attention to restrictive dental hygiene scope of practice rules in each state. State dental boards, comprised mainly of dentists, make these rules based on their perception of dental hygienists' lack of education. This study explored fourth-year dental students' perceptions of the dental hygienist's education and scope of practice. This research found that while dental students felt that the dental hygienist would be a positive addition to their future practices, they did not wholly understand the rigors of dental hygiene education. In addition, dental schools may need to educate on the differences between direct and general supervision.

The following is a study to determine if sufficient demand exists to start a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree program in dental hygiene through a joint agreement for completion degrees between Valencia Community College and the University of Central Florida. To accomplish this objective two survey instruments were administered to randomly selected licensed dentists and dental hygienists in the state of Florida. Dental hygienists represented the potential student base for the proposed programs, and dentists represented the potential and prospective employers of graduated students of the proposed programs. To determine demand and demand characteristics, one survey instrument was mailed to 1,000 dental hygienists who were randomly selected using SAS software from a population of N=12,066 dental hygienists actively licensed to practice in the state of Florida. This sample of hygienists was approximately 8.3% of the total population. Of the 1,000 samples, 134 (or 13.4%) were returned. Of the 134 surveys returned, 123 (n=123) were included in this study. Eleven surveys were not included because of a majority of missing data or because the respondent indicated he or she already possessed a Bachelor or Master degree. A Likert-scale questionnaire was sent to each group of actively licensed dentists and actively licensed dental hygienists from the state of Florida. Responses from dental hygienists were overwhelmingly positive towards the addition of the Bachelor of Science degree program with an online distance-learning component. Those in favor of the Bachelor of Science degree program also provided a favorable response towards adding a Master of Science degree program in dental hygiene. The dentists, as potential future employers, also showed strong support in their responses for the additional degree programs with an additional management track component and believed it would elevate the professional standards of the dental hygiene field.

No description available.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / Medical Sciences / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

Background: Clinical instructors are expected to be excellent practitioners with great teaching skills. They play a vital role in teaching the next generation of respiratory therapists (RTs). Because clinical instructors impact the learning process of teaching the next generation, it is important to identify the effective teaching characteristics that contribute to the clinical success of the student from the perspective of RT faculty. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to identify effective behavioral teaching characteristics of clinical instructors that are deemed most and least important by RT faculty in the State of Georgia. METHODS: Data were collected through a descriptive survey. The survey was adapted and emailed to all RT faculty members listed on The Georgia Society for Respiratory Care (GSRC) website. The survey consisted of three main domains: professional competence, relationship with students, and personal attributes. Thirty-five behavioral teaching characteristics were presented on a five-point Likert scale according to importance. RESULTS: Nineteen responses were received out of forty emailed surveys, with a response rate of 47.5%. The majority of participants indicated a master degree as their highest degree. Almost 58% of the participants teach at programs that offer associate degree. The study findings indicated faculty members’ perceptions ranking of the most important behavioral teaching characteristics hold a lot of similarities and some differences. Among all provided teaching characteristics, “Facilitate critical thinking in clinical practice was perceived as the most important behavioral teaching characteristic with mean scores and S.D of (M 4.89, S.D ±0.31), respectively. In the domain of relationship with students, “Encourage students to feel free to ask questions or ask for help” was ranked the highest by the participants with a mean of 4.57 and S.D of ±0.50. In the personal attributes domain, “Able to collaborate with other disciplines” was ranked as the most important characteristic with mean scores and S.D respectively (M 4.68, S.D ±0.47). CONCULSION: Faculty from different program levels (associate, baccalaureate and master) agreed that “Facilitate critical thinking in clinical practice” was the most important characteristic. Based on these findings, it is highly recommend that clinical instructors strive to improve their attitudes toward students as the best way to achieve the goals of clinical teaching. They also showed the need for respiratory therapy programs to foster and to promote uniformly identified effective behavioral teaching characteristics.

The Dissertation work presented herein monitors the significance of oral hygiene in adults, while aiming at preventive measures leading to lowering mouth cavity illness occurrences. Within the theoretical part, I focus on the delineation of important terms relating to preventive care for oral cavity, information concerning anatomy, physiology of oral cavity, influence of foods and other problems within the oral cavity, among which there are tooth cavities and diseases of gingiva. In the practical part of the work I aim on the assessment of the level of oral health, trough the help of applied clinical research methodologies and investigative tooth indices such as API, PBI, and CPITN. Furthermore, educational materials are passed on, for the purpose of dissemination of needed information in the area of dental hygiene, teaching correct teeth brushing techniques, and utilization of other between-the-tooth tools. The following graphic presentation reveals the level of dental health. As well, within my work, I have verified that, within a larger proportion of patients an improved oral hygiene ensued; thanks to educational program together with an improved home oral hygiene care. Familiarity, care of oral cavity and dental hygiene are the most important prerequisites for each individual, when attempting to improve dental health.

Although tobacco cessation is an uphill battle for almost everyone who attempts to quit, it is important that dental hygienists do not assume that patients are not interested. Dental hygienists are in an ideal position to offer cessation help to their tobacco using patients. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the tobacco cessation practices among central Texas dental hygienists. Specifically, dental hygienists were asked about beliefs, motivation, and confidence with regard to their tobacco cessation practice. A positive significant, moderate, relationship was found between beliefs and confidence (r=0.647), beliefs and practices (r=0.704), knowledge and capability (r=0.579), motivation and capability (r=0.529), motivation and practice (r=0.605), and years of practice and capability (r=0.699). The mean confidence scores for hygienists with more than 20 years of experience differed from those with 1-5 years of experience (p=.003) and 6-10 years of experience (p=.025).