Bacterial contamination of scrub jackets during dental hygiene procedures.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess bacterial contamination of uniforms by aerosols produced during dental hygiene procedures, including examination, hand and ultrasonic scaling, and polishing. METHODS: Sterile milipore filters were taped to long-sleeved scrub jackets of 26 senior dental hygiene students and worn during patient appointments. Filters were removed at the end of the appointment and cultured to determine bacterial contamination on the dominant arm, non-dominant arm, and chest. RESULTS: Analysis of filter position by procedure with SPSS MANOVA showed a statistically significant difference (1.95, df = 9,299, p = .045). Univariate statistics showed that filters on the dominant arm (p = .013) and non-dominant arm (p = .030) had significantly higher colony forming unit/filter for ultrasonic scaling than for examination, while chest did not (p = .154). CONCLUSION: Aerosol contamination is produced during dental hygiene procedures, even examination and hand scaling. The number of micro-organisms is higher on the sleeves than the chest of scrub jackets, and is higher when ultrasonic or sonic scalers or air polishers are used.

Survey of ethnicity and academic preparation of faculty in dental hygiene programs.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine numbers of minority faculty in dental hygiene programs and to examine the academic preparation of faculty members who are dental hygienists. METHODS: A survey of ethnicity and academic preparation of full- and part-time faculty was sent to directors of all accredited U.S. dental hygiene programs in November 1991. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) categories and definitions were used for ethnic minorities. Professional minorities were defined as male dental hygienists and female dentists. Survey data were analyzed using chi-square and ANOVA for unequal cell frequencies. RESULTS: One hundred twenty-six (62%) of the 203 surveys were returned. Only 41 (32%) of the programs reported one or more ethnic minorities among the full- or part-time faculty. Of the 1,025 dental hygienists employed full- or part-time as faculty, there were 59 ethnic minorities and 10 males. The majority of the dental hygiene programs that had dentists as full- or part-time faculty employed white male dentists. The most common minority among dentists was white female. Most dental hygiene program director respondents (66%) reported no minority faculty in their programs. Of the dental hygiene programs that did have minority faculty, most had only one member of one minority group. No significant differences in educational preparation were found between ethnic minority and white dental hygiene faculty. Significant differences in academic preparation of dental hygiene faculty were found among programs in different educational settings and, for full-time faculty, by degree awarded program graduates. CONCLUSION: The limited numbers of minority faculty in dental hygiene programs restricts the number of dental hygiene students who have access to minorities as professional role models. To increase cultural diversity in dental hygiene education, efforts are needed to recruit more minority students and to encourage them to pursue advanced degrees for careers as dental hygiene educators.

Need for dental hygiene and dental care in Veterans Administration patients.

The Periodontal Treatment Needs System (PTNS) was used to classify needs of 102 patients, 97 males and five females, at the VAMC Dental Service. The PTNS is based on the presence or absence of plaque, calculus or overhangs, inflammation and pocket depth. In addition, need for restorative and prosthetic care was added to the PTNS based on dentists' diagnosis. All classification was done by quadrant. All subjects required dental hygiene or periodontal care; 45% of the subjects need restorative treatment, prosthetic treatment, or both. Differences in numbers of patients requiring each type of treatment were highly significant. Multiple regression showed that age was positively related to type of treatment needed, with a significant difference in dental hygiene or periodontal needs by quadrant. The results of this study show greater need for dental hygiene and periodontal treatment than for dental treatment in these patients.

An analysis of response changes on objective test questions.

Response changes of two classes of 30 dental hygiene students each were tabulated on multiple-choice questions on quizzes, midterms, and final examinations. Response changes were classified as wrong to right, right to wrong, or wrong to wrong. Despite educational myths that changing answers is harmful, significantly more responses were changed from wrong to right than from right to wrong. There were more answers changed for test items of low and moderate difficulty than high difficulty. Students ranked in the top third of the class made the fewest number of response changes. A comparison of actual and revised grades showed that the response changes significantly improved grades. Faculty should encourage students to examine their own pattern of response changes and use this information to their advantage when taking objective tests.