Managerial role development of the dental hygienist in initial patient interactions.

In 1985, the American Dental Hygienists' Association (ADHA) identified six roles for the future of dental hygiene: change agent, health promoter/educator, clinician, researcher, consumer advocate, and administrator/manager. As part of the role definition implicit in the identification of these roles, dental hygienists must enlarge their view of themselves as clinicians and realize the importance of these six roles in total patient care. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the dental hygienist's managerial role in initial patient interactions and to identify skills essential to manage this responsibility. This paper also examines different teaching strategies that could be used by dental hygiene educators to enhance managerial role development.

ADHA Graduate Student/Faculty Research Project: health history.

PURPOSE: An American Dental Hygienists' Association (ADHA) study gathered demographic and practice data on dental hygienists in the United States. This paper describes the health history component of the survey. Specifically, this report focuses on who sees new patients first in the dental office, who collects health history information, who updates the health history and when, type of health history used, and how positive responses to health history items are investigated. METHODS: A questionnaire jointly developed by ADHA and a research firm was sent in July 1986 to a stratified random sample of 10,507 ADHA member and nonmember dental hygienists licensed and practicing in the United States. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to determine frequency distributions, cross-tabulations, and select profiles. Results. A response rate of 49.6% was obtained. Results revealed that new nonemergency patients were scheduled first with the dental hygienist. Health histories were recorded for almost all new patients but updated irregularly. A combination of a self-administered form and verbal interview was used. Recall patients' health histories were mainly updated by an oral interview. Follow-up on positive responses was most often accomplished by asking additional questions, followed by consultation with the dentist and/or physician. Dental hygienists felt least adequately informed to follow up on positive responses to homosexual status, and i.v. and recreational drug use. Conclusions. The dental hygienist plays a significant role in health history data collection both for new and recall patients. Educational programs for entry-level and practicing dental hygienists should emphasize effective interviewing to gather patient health history data.

A performance examination for assessing dental hygiene competencies.

A performance assessment was developed to assess multiple skills from a new competency document. Faculty members developed the tasks that each student would perform, the evaluation criteria, and the testing procedures. Grant project leaders consolidated these materials into the Senior Exit Examination (SEE). The 11 tasks included interpreting a research article, solving an ethical dilemma, and developing a community intervention. An objective, structured clinical examination had stations for interpreting radiographs, describing oral lesions, taking vital signs, taking and analyzing health histories, and communicating with "difficult" patients. Pilot administration of the SEE was conducted in April 1995 and 1996. The majority of the students passed 4 of the 11 tasks on the first attempt in 1995, and 7 passed in 1996. Following changes to the exam and the curriculum, the SEE was conducted four times from 1997 to 2000. Student performance for all tasks in 2000 was at the approximate level of > or = 80% pass rate. Pearson chi-square tests showed that student performance significantly improved over the years from 1995 to 2000 for 9 of the 11 tasks (p < 0.001); a high performance level was maintained in ethics and community intervention with no significant change. The SEE is now considered an important measure for assessing student competence and program outcomes.

Management of the patient with mental retardation: a case report.

During the course of their careers dental professionals frequently interact with individuals presenting with mental retardation. In order to provide the best possible quality of care they should be aware of the etiology of mental retardation, the medical and dental conditions associated with this disability, and the services which can be incorporated into a treatment plan focused on improving the oral health for these individuals. This article identifies basic information dental professionals need to know when treating people with mental retardation, as well as describing a case report of the dental hygiene services that were provided to a patient presenting with this disability.