COVID-19 impact, knowledge and preparedness among dental hygienists in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: The study investigates the impact of COVID-19 on dental hygiene professionals practising in Saudi Arabia, and measuring the knowledge and preparedness of dental hygienists to provide care during the pandemic. METHODS: A non-experimental, cross-sectional study was conducted targeting dental hygiene professionals in Saudi Arabia. The online survey consisted of 31 close-ended questions: 9-items related to demographics, and 22-items that are COVID-19 related. Data were tested at two levels; descriptive and preliminary using Chi-square test, and significance was set at the 0.05 level. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty-one responses were received and the final sample included one hundred and eighteen responses as it excluded unemployed dental hygienists with estimated 39.6% response rate. The stress level to return to practice was considered moderate among 65.3% of participants. Over two-thirds (73.7%) of dental hygienists were not providing any kind of care/treatment during quarantine. Generally, a moderate level of knowledge (57.8%) was demonstrated by participants. For preparedness level to practice during the pandemic, sixty-four dental hygienists (54.2%) were adequately prepared to provide care. Significant correlations were found between impact and knowledge (p = 0.045), impact and preparedness (p = 0.053), and knowledge and preparedness (p = 0.024). CONCLUSIONS: Dissemination of COVID-19 protocols, guidelines and scientific literature increased the respondents' level of knowledge and preparedness to an adequate level. This study indicated that knowledgeable dental hygienists were significantly more prepared to treat patients during the pandemic and that stress positively influenced the COVID-19 knowledge acquisition. Non-practising dental hygienists during quarantine were more knowledgeable and more prepared to practice during the pandemic.

Advancing Dental Education in the 21st Century: Phase 2 Report on Strategic Analysis and Recommendations.

In Phase 1 of the "Advancing Dental Education in the 21st Century" project, research was conducted and published on a number of serious challenges facing dental and allied dental education, both presently and projected to 2040. Those findings informed the strategic analysis and recommendations developed in Phase 2 of the project. This report provides an overview of the Phase 2 conclusions and presents recommendations to address the challenges identified. The recommendations propose ways to educate a workforce prepared to meet the oral health needs of the population; develop a sustainable economic model that allows schools to meet their education, research, and service missions; make dental and allied dental education and practice an integral part of the larger health education and delivery systems; and keep dentistry advancing as a "learned" profession. This report begins with an Executive Summary and then presents the strategic analysis of challenges facing dental schools and allied dental programs and provides a brief explanation of the rationale for each recommendation. Two appendices are included with the report: the first summarizes discussions held at the national conference to consider the recommendations; and the second provides additional documentation of calculations used to estimate the number of new dental graduates needed in 2040.

The Allied Dental Professions: Executive Summary.

This executive summary for Section 5 of the "Advancing Dental Education in the 21st Century" project addresses the current and future educational systems for dental assisting, dental hygiene, dental therapy, and dental laboratory technology. Nineteen experts prepared six background articles on the educational changes necessary for future roles and practices. The key issues addressed relate to delivery system changes, educational curricula, scopes of practice, regulatory measures, and the public's oral health. The major finding is that substantial reforms will be needed to adequately prepare allied oral health professionals for the changes anticipated in 2040. A reconsideration of current accreditation guidelines, more flexibility with scopes of practice, and an adherence to rigorous academic programs are essential elements for the future of these professions.

Preparing the Future Dental Hygiene Workforce: Knowledge, Skills, and Reform.

With the health care delivery system in transition, the way in which oral health care services are delivered in 2040 will inevitably change. To achieve the aims of reduced cost, improved access, and higher quality and to advance population wellness, oral health care will likely become a more integrated part of medical care. An integrated primary care system would better meet the needs of an increasingly diverse and aging U.S. population with uneven access to health care services. By 2040, trends suggest that a smaller proportion of dental hygienists will work in traditional solo dental offices; many more will practice with multidisciplinary health care teams in large-group dental and medical practices and in a variety of non-traditional community settings. This integration will require changes in how dental hygienists are educated. To shape the skill sets, clinical judgment, and knowledge of future practitioners, current dental hygiene curricula must be reexamined, redirected, and enhanced. This article examines some of the factors that are likely to shape the future of dental hygiene practice, considers the strengths and weaknesses of current curricula, and proposes educational changes to prepare dental hygienists for practice in 2040. This article was written as part of the project "Advancing Dental Education in the 21st Century."

Creating Immediacy Using Verbal and Nonverbal Methods.

PURPOSE: The importance of immediacy and positive relationships between students and teachers is well-documented. Applying immediacy to the patient/provider model has not been sufficiently explored. The significance in creating a bond of trust between the patient/provider is vital to the diagnostic and therapeutic process. As outlined by the National Dental Hygiene Research Agenda, this literature review supports strategies for effective communication between the dental hygienist and client. It examines the relationship between oral health care providers and their patients and applies the verbal and nonverbal cues associated with immediacy to affirm their relevance and effectiveness in educating and motivating patients to achieve optimal oral and systemic health.

Confronting human papilloma virus/oropharyngeal cancer: a model for interprofessional collaboration.

UNLABELLED: A collaborative practice model related to Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) associated oropharyngeal cancer highlights the role of the dental hygienist in addressing this condition. BACKGROUND: The incidence of HPV associated head and neck cancer is rising. Multiple professionals including the dental hygienist can work collaboratively to confront this growing public health concern. METHODS: A critical review applies the growth and utilization of interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional collaboration (IPC) to multi-disciplinary models addressing the human papilloma virus and oropharyngeal cancers. CONCLUSIONS: A model related to HPV associated oropharyngeal cancer addresses an oral systemic condition that supports the inclusion of a dental hygienist on collaborative teams addressing prevention, detection, treatment and cure of OPC.

Lost opportunities for smoking cessation among adults with diabetes in Florida (2007) and Maryland (2006).

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes organizations recommend that people with diabetes should not smoke because of increased risk of diabetes complications. We describe smoking rates and health care service use among adults with diabetes in Florida and Maryland and identify the role of dentists in offering smoking cessation advice and services. METHODS: We analyzed data from 3 state telephone surveys: the 2007 Florida Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (n = 39,549), the 2007 Florida Tobacco Callback Survey (n = 3,560), and the 2006 Maryland Adult Tobacco Survey (n = 21,799). RESULTS: Findings indicated that 15.7% of adults with diabetes in Florida and 11.6% of adults with diabetes in Maryland currently smoke. Current smoking among people with diabetes was associated with age, education, income, and race/ethnicity. Almost all respondents with diabetes who were current smokers in Florida (92.9%) and Maryland (97.7%) had visited a doctor or health care professional in the past year, and less than half had visited a dentist (40.7% and 44.8%, respectively). Both in Florida and Maryland, approximately two-thirds of adults with diabetes who were smokers and had visited a dentist in the past year had not received advice to quit (63.8% and 63.9%, respectively). In contrast, most adults with diabetes who were smokers and had visited a doctor or health care professional had received advice to quit smoking (95.3% and 84.9%, respectively). CONCLUSION: Dentists are in a unique position to identify and demonstrate the oral effects of smoking in patients with diabetes. These data support continued smoking cessation training and education of oral health professionals.

A comparison of health professions student attitudes regarding tobacco curricula and interventionist roles.

Health care providers who feel prepared are more apt to assume tobacco interventionist roles; therefore, educational preparation is critical. A nonprobability sample of health professions students at an urban academic health center were asked to respond to a twenty-two-item survey eliciting demographic, behavioral, and tobacco-related attitudinal information. Frequency distributions were assessed with Pearson chi-square statistics. The overall response rate was 76.7 percent, and final sample size was 319. Current use of spit tobacco (ST) was 2.5 percent and current smoking 5.6 percent. In comparing current smokers to nonsmokers and current ST users to nonusers, we found that no differences in proportion agreeing with any of the five questions about attitudes and opinions were statistically significant at p-value 0.05. At least 70 percent of students from each of six health professions programs agreed it was their professional responsibility to help smokers quit, and at least 65 percent agreed to the same responsibility for helping ST users quit. The proportion agreeing that their programs had course content describing their role in helping patients quit tobacco use varied widely by program from 100 percent agreement among dental hygiene and pharmacy students to 14.6 percent of physical therapy students (p-value <0.001). When asked whether their program adequately prepared them to help smokers quit, agreement ranged from 100 percent among dental hygiene students to only 5.5 percent among physical therapy students (p-value <0.001). Almost 90 percent of dental hygiene students agreed that they were adequately trained to help ST users quit, but no other program had a percentage of agreement above 34 percent (p-value <0.001). Consistent and comprehensive multidisciplinary tobacco-related curricula could offer desirable standardization.