Comparison of clinical practice education in dental hygiene schools in eight countries

Junko Inukai, Miwa Sakurai, Haruo Nakagaki, Kyohei Matsui, Hiroko Matsuda, Kiyomi Tamura, Bo Danielsen, Jane Rowbotham, Toshimi Kosaka

    5 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    OBJECTIVES: The profession of dental hygienist is one of the few in which the primary function of the practitioner is to prevent oral disease and to promote the well-being of patients. The aim of this study was to investigate clinical training conditions in schools of dental hygiene in eight countries (the USA, Canada, the UK, Sweden, Denmark, Thailand, South Korea and Japan).

    METHODS: In 2006, we sent out a questionnaire in which we asked dental hygiene schools about how they educate dental hygiene students.

    RESULTS: The techniques taught to students in schools in Western industrialised nations, such as the USA, Canada, Denmark, the UK and Sweden, were mainly related to dental preventive measures and dental health guidance. By contrast, training schools in South Korea and Japan placed less emphasis on dental preventive measures and dental health guidance. Dental hygienists in Thailand are trained to perform local anaesthesia and to fill and extract deciduous teeth although the country does not have a specific qualification system.

    CONCLUSIONS: The contents of clinical training and education in schools of dental hygiene differ greatly among countries.

    Original languageEnglish
    JournalInternational Dental Journal
    Volume62
    Issue number3
    Pages (from-to)122-6
    Number of pages5
    ISSN0020-6539
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jun 2012

    Keywords

    • Canada
    • Clinical Competence
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Curriculum
    • Denmark
    • Dental Hygienists
    • Great Britain
    • Health Promotion
    • Humans
    • Japan
    • Oral Hygiene
    • Primary Prevention
    • Republic of Korea
    • Surveys and Questionnaires
    • Thailand
    • United States

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Comparison of clinical practice education in dental hygiene schools in eight countries'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this