Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Dental hygiene program outcomes'

Thesis (M.S.)--School of Dentistry. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2008.
"A thesis in dental hygiene education." Advisor: Bonnie Branson. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed Aug. 07, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 53-58). Online version of the print edition.

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.
Ph.D.
Department of Health Professions
Health and Public Affairs
Public Affairs PhD

Background: There is a paucity of published literature pertaining to motivating influences, experiences, and outcomes of dental hygiene baccalaureate degree education. Since there are various dental hygiene entry-to-practice educational models in Canada, exploring baccalaureate education is becoming an increasingly important subject. Objective: To explore the motivating influences, experiences, and outcomes of dental hygiene degree-completion education in Canada, from the perspectives of diploma dental hygienists who had continued their education to the baccalaureate degree level. Methods: This study employed a qualitative phenomenological design, using a maximum variation purposeful sampling strategy. Data generation occurred with sixteen dental hygienists across Canada through individual semi-structured interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and coded for data analysis, involving pattern recognition and thematic development. Results: Emerging themes regarding motivating influences included: expanding career opportunities in dental hygiene, personal development and a desire for knowledge, remaining competitive, status and recognition, access to graduate education, and third- person influences. Participants’ experiences in degree-completion programs included obtaining a broader education and being exposed to a wider scope of knowledge within and outside of dental hygiene theory. They also experienced a more independent learning environment, with a stronger focus on literature review and critical thinking, compared to their learning experiences in their previous dental hygiene diploma education. Themes which emerged about outcomes included changes in: self-perception, values, and knowledge base. Changes in self-perception were reflected by a reported increase in self-confidence and perceived credibility. Changes in values included a greater appreciation for lifelong learning. Advancements in knowledge strengthened the development of specific abilities which ultimately influenced the participants’ dental hygiene practice. These abilities included an increased ability to think critically, to make evidence-based decisions, and to provide more comprehensive care. Participants also commented on having more career opportunities available to them outside of the clinical practice setting. Conclusion: These results reveal important insights for those dental hygienists considering additional dental hygiene education. The findings also provide insights into the positive impact of earning a dental hygiene baccalaureate degree on oneself and one’s dental hygiene practice.

Entry to Practice Competencies and Standards is a document that sets the guidelines of curriculum for all Canadian dental hygiene programs. Within the document, a competency-based curricular aim is emphasized. As contemporary educational literature have been suggesting, student centered learning has become a dominant guiding principle of pedagogical approaches for competency-based education. With shifting curricular aims and pedagogical principles many current educators of dental hygiene programs may be teaching new curricula different to that which they experienced when they were students in dental hygiene programs. Furthermore, many of them may be expected to implement pedagogical approaches that are different from how they were taught due to traditional conceptions of how people learn. This study explores the perspectives on teaching and learning held by clinical dental hygiene instructors at one Canadian institution. The objective is to understand which teaching and learning perspectives dental hygiene instructors hold. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with fifteen instructors. The results show that instructors tend to think of their teaching as student-centered, yet in a set of 'simulated teaching' questions, the responses were found to be teacher-centered. The research also revealed that the process by which one learns to become a clinical dental hygiene instructor is multifactorial. These factors include but are not limited to the following: instructors' perceptions of their own learning experiences, instructors' experiences of inter- instructor collaboration, and instructors' methods of facilitating student self-efficacy. Given curricular change and the emergence of literature supporting a student-centered approach to teaching and learning, this study shows that it is critical to uncover the teaching/learning beliefs of the instructor's prior to designing faculty development programs. Integrating instructors'preconceptions into the program design may create an environment that is more accommodating of the transition towards the new pedagogical culture.
Dentistry, Faculty of
Graduate

Quality assurance in healthcare is fundamental in ensuring the achievement of desired outcomes for patients. In 2011 a quality assurance plan was created at the East Tennessee State University (ETSU) dental hygiene program in order to meet accreditation standards. The purpose of this study was to evaluate this plan in order to determine its effectiveness in improving the quality of patient care indicators. One hundred fifty patient charts were selected and audited. Deficiencies were counted in the categories of assessment, treatment, documentation, referral, caries management, perio management, patient education, and follow-up. Research findings were varied; however, external variables with the potential to affect the study’s results were identified. Furthermore, statistical process control procedures indicated that the quality assurance program was effective or had the potential to be effective. Although further research is warranted, this study could be used to improve quality assurance practices at the ETSU dental hygiene program.

Many clients with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities (ID/DD) do not tolerate routine medical or dental procedures and may require intrusive interventions, including restraint of various types (i.e. chemical, mechanical, physical, etc.) during appointments. Graduated exposure, or stimulus fading, along with reinforcement for compliance, have been shown to increase cooperation and tolerance in some clients; however, many do not respond to these types of interventions. Nine participants diagnosed with ID/DD recieved compliance/tolerance training for routine medical or dental procedures. Results of these interventions were evaluated in the context of several potential indices of readiness, such as medical diagnoses, level of disability, and presence of challenging behavior, among others. Several of the variables appeared to be correlated with program responsiveness; however, a larger sample will be necessary to draw definitive conclusions. Client characteristics and past assessments (anecdotals, preference assessments, terminal probes, and survey data) were evaluated. The analytical framework developed for this analysis may be useful to future researchers and clinicians as a model for assessing readiness for tolerance training programs.

In order for a student to be successful in dental hygiene education, the student must gain the required knowledge and skills necessary to perform as a hygienist and possess the ability to utilize critical thinking to apply these attributes while in the program and on the National Board of Dental Hygiene Examination (NBDHE) (Alzahrani, Thompson, & Bauman, 2007; Fried, Maxey, Battani, Gurenlian, Byrd, & Brunick, 2017). Dental hygiene students who attend a medical university have the option to take required pre-requisite courses at a community college or a four-year university. All dental hygiene students transfer from another institution and all have the potential to exhibit transfer shock, which may contribute to a drop in GPA following the transfer to another institution. Transfer shock typically occurs for students who transfer from a community college to a university (Hills 1965; Ivins, Copenhaver, & Koclanes, 2016). This study investigates the impact of transfer shock on students who transfer into a dental hygiene program from a two-year community college as opposed to a four-year university. This study examined whether the type of institution, two-year community college versus a four-year university, attended prior to dental hygiene school is a predictor of success in a dental hygiene program in terms of ending program GPA and NBDHE first-attempt pass rates. After data analysis, results suggested that transfer shock did occur with both community college and four-year university students,. However, the four-year university group experienced less transfer shock than those who attended a community college during the first semester. Neither group increased their GPAs from the first to second semesters in the program. When comparing the entering GPAs with the end of program GPAs, both groups showed a significant drop. However, the community college group’s decrease in GPA was greater. Only five students in the total population (two from the four-year university group and three from the community college group) failed the NBDHE on the first attempt. Students who were unsuccessful in passing the NBDHE had final program GPAs that ranged from 2.2 to 2.45.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2002.
Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 92 p. : ill. (some col.). Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 45-46).

This study was designed to investigate an accredited dental assisting educational program at a Midwest community college. The Bureau of Labor of Statistics (2015) claimed the profession of dental assisting is one of the fastest growing occupation, along with ongoing research that good oral health is linked to overall general health, thereby increasing the need for more dental assistants in the workforce. The aim of this study was to determine if dental assisting students taking courses in a face-to-face traditional format performed differently from students taking courses in a hybrid (a combination of face-to-face and online) format. The researcher invited a total of 92 students from cohorts in 2012, 2013, and 2014 to participate. Of the students who elected to participate, 62% were from the traditional cohort, and 39% were from the hybrid cohort. Data collected from a cross-sectional survey focused on the tenets of the theory of Communities of Practice. De-identified data were collected to compare students’ progress between the traditional and hybrid cohorts with retention rates and national examination scores using a t-test for data analysis. The results confirmed no statistically significant performance differences were apparent between the two groups of students. The hybrid delivery format was as effective in educating dental assisting students as the traditional educational format.

[Truncated abstract] Periodontal disease is a common and underdiagnosed disease in humans that may have adverse effects on pregnancy outcomes. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the effects of periodontal disease in pregnancy by means of two observational human studies and the development of animal models of fetal and uterine exposure to periodontopathic bacteria and lipopolysaccharide. I performed a prospective study examining the rates of preterm birth, small for gestational age neonates and neonatal inflammation in 277 women who had undergone a detailed antenatal periodontal examination and oral health questionnaire. Periodontal disease was associated with small for gestational age neonates, and increased CRP levels in umbilical cord blood, but no effect was seen on the rate of preterm birth. Maternal oral health symptoms predicted both periodontal disease and newborn biometry. In a retrospective case control study, I examined the role of periodontal disease in perinatal mortality. Participants included 53 women who had experienced a perinatal loss for which no cause could be found after thorough investigation, and 111 control women. Women who had experienced a perinatal loss were more than twice as likely as controls to have periodontal disease. The incidence of periodontal disease was even higher in women in whom the perinatal loss was due to extreme prematurity. In contrast to my prospective study, risks to the pregnancy could not be predicted by maternal oral health behaviours or oral health symptoms. In order to better understand the mechanisms regulating the associations described in the human studies, two animal models were developed; one to investigate acute exposure and the second to investigate long-term exposure to periodontal pathogens. The first study examined the effects of administration of a bolus of periodontopathic bacteria and lipopolysaccharide to the pregnant sheep. Injection of bacteria and lipopolysaccharide in the amniotic fluid of the pregnant preterm sheep caused a high rate of fetal lethality, disturbance of fetal acid base status and inflammation of the fetus and membranes. Given the circumstances of exposure to periodontopathic pathogens in human periodontal disease, a model investigating long-term exposure to periodontopathic lipopolysaccharide on pregnancy outcomes was developed. ... Overall, I have demonstrated that maternal periodontal disease is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes including fetal growth restriction and possibly perinatal loss. Mechanisms regulating these effects are likely to be mediated by fetal adaptations to intrauterine inflammation resulting in altered fetal development, growth or survival. Randomised controlled trials that are currently in progress will provide further information on the effects of periodontal disease in human pregnancy, and the efficacy of treatment to reduce these adverse outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a school-based fluoride mouthrinse program in a fluoridated community. Such an evaluation is important because the effect of such programs may decrease over time due to the widespread use of fluoride. Two elementary schools were chosen. One had a fluoride mouthrinse program: the other did not. The subjects were children in grades one and six. Their caries experience was examined using dft. dfs. DFT, and DFS scores. There were no statistically significant differences between the two schools. The program had no significant effect in the community studied.

Background: Motivation plays a vital role in dental students' learning experience and wellbeing. Self-determination theory differentiates between autonomous and controlled motivation and amotivation, where autonomous motivation corresponds to the most selfdetermined form of regulation. Previous research has found that several social educational factors, mediated by students' satisfaction of their basic psychological needs of feeling autonomous, competent and related to important others, predicts autonomous motivation. In turn, autonomous motivation leads to more positive educational outcomes compared to controlled motivation or amotivation. So far, however, few studies have investigated the process of motivation in health professions education from the perspective of the Selfdetermination Theory. A systematic review was conducted within this thesis, identifying determinants, such as an autonomy supportive learning climate and feedback, that predicted students' autonomous motivation. No studies were found that tested mediation effects between determinants and motivation. In turn, students' self-determined motivation was found to predict different affective, behavioural and cognitive outcomes. These studies, however, came mainly from medical education. Despite its relevance for students' development, very little is known about the process of motivation in dental students. This indicates a need to understand its various aspects, which may lead to evidence-based interventions to foster students optimal functioning. Purpose: To test a model of academic motivation in dental education by analysing the associations between autonomy-support and quantity and quality of feedback, as determinants, and self-determined motivation, mediated by students' basic psychological needs satisfaction. This, followed by testing the associations between self-determined motivation and the behavioural outcomes of deep and surface study strategies and academic performance, and the affective outcomes of vitality and self-esteem. Finally, we aimed to test whether the model worked different for female and male students, and by year of curriculum. Methods: We conducted a correlational cross-sectional survey study at the dental school of the University San Sebastian in Chile. All dental students from year 1 to 6 were invited to participate and to answer a questionnaire package containing demographic data and previously validated self-reported instruments. Data on academic performance were obtained from the administrative department. Data analysis involved five phases. First, internal consistency of all measures was assessed by means of Cronbach alpha. Second, descriptive and group comparisons were computed by means of independent t-test to assess gender differences and MANOVA to assess year-of-curriculum differences. Third, bivariate correlations were assessed amongst all measures. Fourth, mediation was tested through a series of regression analyses. Finally, the entire model was assessed by means of structured equation modelling, for the overall student sample as well as for the subgroups of females and males and different years of study. Data were analysed with the PASW and AMOS software. Results: A total of 924 students (90.2% response rate) agreed to participate and completed the questionnaires. Cronbach's alpha values of all instruments ranged from .641 to .912. Students' autonomous motivation for attending university was higher than controlled motivation and amotivation, showing an overall self-determined profile. Females endorsed higher than men both autonomous and controlled motivation, while men endorsed amotivation higher. The overall motivation profile, however, did not show significant gender differences. Across the six years, students showed an overall self-determined profile, in which autonomous motivation decreased when transitioning to clinical years, to rise again in the final year. The contrary was found for students' amotivation scores, while controlled motivation declined as they entered clinical-based years. Bivariate correlations showed that both determinants were positively correlated with students' basic psychological needs satisfaction and with autonomous motivation. In turn, the latter was positively associated with behavioural and affective outcomes. All these associations showed a decreasingly positive correlation from autonomous motivation to amotivation. Mediation regression analyses showed both determinants predicting dental students' autonomous motivation, however, this influence was not direct, it was mediated by students' perceptions of the satisfaction of their basic psychological needs. Finally, structured equation modelling indicated that the data fitted the model well, and showed both determinants positively predicting students' satisfaction of their basic psychological needs, which positively influenced autonomous motivation over controlled motivation. In turn, the gradual shift from controlled to autonomous motivation positively predicted affective and behavioural outcomes. Moreover, the associations followed a similar pattern, with minor deviations, when tested by gender and by year of study. Discussion and conclusion: In the context of this research, dental students' autonomous motivation was indirectly predicted by the social educational factors of teachers' autonomysupport and quantity and quality of feedback, being mediated by students' satisfaction of their basic psychological needs. Students' acting out of autonomous motivation showed enhanced deep study strategies and better academic performance, experienced higher vitality and self-esteem, and showed lower surface study strategies. This suggests that autonomous motivation leads to important outcomes, decreasing from controlled motivation to amotivation. Whilst students in different years of study showed an autonomous motivation profile, there were important differences that showed that students' transition from basic/preclinical to clinical years influenced their motivation and should therefore be taken into account when planning interventions to enhance students' motivation. Results are discussed in light of self-determination theory and considering its implications on curriculum development, teaching and learning, clinical training, assessment, faculty development, peer-assisted-learning and dentist-patient relationship. Significance: This is the first study, in health professions education, to test a Selfdetermination theory-based model including determinants, mediators, motivation and outcomes. This research also expands to dental education the study of motivation based on an empirically verified psychological theory. The results provide strong support for the Selfdetermination theory of motivation in dental education and provide acceptable evidence that the quality of motivation and satisfying students' psychological needs are important in determining positive educational outcomes amongst dental students. Therefore, many successes and failures in a number of elements of dental and health professions education may be understood through the lens of this theory. As such, efforts should be made in various aspects of dental education to support learners' sense of autonomy, competence and relatedness, which may have an extensive influence on dental education and on students' wellbeing. Future research should confirm or refute our results in other dental education settings.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Delaware, 1997.
Principal faculty adviser: James A. Whitson, Dept. of Educational Development. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.