• Journal of Korean Academy of Dental Administration
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2017

Although dental hygienists have performed chair-side assisting and other dental cares as well as preventive dental cares in Korea, medical technician law confines duties of dental hygienists as closed narrative. The aim of this study was to investigate difference in perception of duties of dental hygienists in dental clinic between dentists and dental hygiene students. A total of 245 copies of questionnaires were distributed to dentists and students by post-mail. Only 42 dentists and 30 students in an area replied these questionnaires about the present and future duties of dental hygienists after providing written consent. Both groups agreed that intra and extra oral X-ray taking, education about oral health behavior, instruction after dental treatment, chair-side assisting, consulting for patients, scaling, initial impression taking, management of dental materials and equipment, sterilization of equipment, and receiving dental bills are duties of dental hygienists. However, they had different perceptions about various dental treatments as duties of dental hygienists even if they were under instructions of a dentist, including infiltration anesthesia, filling in cavity, intramuscular injection, FC change, canal irrigation, orthodontic treatment including separating, ligature bracket bonding and removing, setting crown and bridge, making individual, removing implant screw, and so on. These findings demonstrated that there were different perceptions about duties of dental hygienists between dentists and dental hygiene students, especially on dental treatment.

• Journal of Korean Dental Hygiene Science
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.39-52
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• 2024

Background: Dental hygienists provide direct dental care in the closest proximity to the patient, and each practice requires a high level of focus and concentration. These skills are an important human resource that can impact the quality of dental care services. Since more than half of dental clinics provide as overtime work in addition to regular hours, this study aims to determine the association between working overtime and job performance for dental hygienists. Methods: The study was conducted using a combination of online and in-person surveys via Google Forms among 131 employed dental hygienists. The survey consisted of 7 questions on demographic and work characteristics, 16 questions on characteristics related to overtime and the effect of overtime on job security, health, and life, and 10 questions on job performance, for a total of 33 questions. Chi-square analysis and independent samples t-test were used to identify the characteristics of demographic and work characteristics, and descriptive statistics analysis was used for the characteristics of overtime. Independent samples t-test was used to test the difference in the mean of job performance according to whether or not they worked overtime, and linear regression analysis was used to show the association of working overtime and job performance. Results: The study found that 71% of dental clinics worked overtime. The average number of overtime per week was once (78.5%), and the most common problems with overtime were fatigue (52.7%) and lack of personal and leisure time (41.9%). The appropriate number of overtime per week considered by dental hygienists was once a week, which was confirmed to be 94.6%. When comparing job performance by overtime status, those who worked overtime were 3.38 points higher than those who did not (35.45 vs. 32.07). Multiple linear regression analysis of the association of working overtime night and job performance showed that a one-unit increase in worked overtime was associated with a statistically significant increase in job performance of about 3.1 (p<0.01). Conclusion: Working overtime was found to have a positive effect on job performance among dental hygienists. Therefore, as a way to improve the working environment, providing appropriate compensation or welfare for overtime can reduce the negative aspects of overtime and turn it into a positive influence on job performance. This could ultimately raise awareness of the dental hygienist as a professional and effect the efficiency of dental care services.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.233-242
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• 2021

Background: The importance of infection with COVID-19 is being emphasized in dentistry with high risks such as aerosols. The purpose of this study is to investigate the knowledge and practice of infection control, stress and coping, and turnover of dental hygienists. Methods: Questionnaire was conducted knowledge and practice of infection control, occupational stress and coping, turnover. Survey data was investigated about 149 dental hygienists from February to March 2021 Data were analyzed t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation using statistical programs of PASW Statistics ver. 21.0. Results: Regarding occupational stress, relationship conflict was higher in the group with less than 2 years of experience (p<0.05). Job anxiety, organizational system, inadequate compensation, and workplace culture were highly surveyed in the 3 to 5 year of experience. The group with more than 6 years of experience had the highest perception of lack of job autonomy (p<0.05). The group with higher knowledge of infection control had lower mean inappropriate rewards and stress (p<0.05). The group with high infection control performance had a lower average in items such as job instability, organizational system, inadequate compensation, workplace culture, and stress. And problem-focused coping ability was found to be high (p<0.05). Infection control knowledge and performance were positively correlated (r=0.251, p<0.01), infection control practice and stress were negatively correlated (r=-0.264, p<0.01), and stress and emotional coping were positively correlated (r=0.367, p<0.01). Stress was positively correlated with turnover rate (r=0.549, p<0.01). Conclusion: Infection control training was required to reduce occupational stress. Occupational stress was highly correlated with turnover, a holistic and systemic organizational operation and improvement of the quality of medical care were required to reduce stress.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.25-35
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• 2006

The purpose of this study is to forecast patient satisfaction and service value through the staged regression analysis of the relation between each factor and its satisfaction and service value, following the measurement of the quality of dental care service that patients recognize. And a self-administered survey was used for this study. The subjects of this survey were 394 outpatients of dental clinics located in K city in the period from Dec. 5, 2004 to Feb. 19, 2005, the questionnaire was composed of a total of 31 questions to measure the quality of overall dental care service(22 questions), the patient satisfaction(6 questions) and the service value(3 questions). The 7 points Likert scale ranging from "very poor"(1-point) to "very high"(7-point) was used for these questions The results of study could be summarized as follows: 1. The most useful index to predict patient satisfaction turned out to be "internal environment", followed by "treatment process and waiting time", "dentist", "external environment", and "dental hygienist". 2. The service value had a significant effect on the "internal environment", "dentist", "treatment process and waiting time". 3. The most useful index to predict the service value turned out to be "treatment process and waiting time", followed by "internal environment" and "dentist". Today, the quality of dental care service is becoming a prime concern since it is directly connected to a matter of survival of medical service organizations. Dental clinics desperately need patient-oriented marketing strategies in order to actively cope with changing medical environment. They also need to thoroughly examine possible measures to maximize the service value by establishing a variety of service strategies which can promote service quality that patients recognize.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.63-77
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to prepare a student and education guideline by examining the college life satisfaction of students studying dental hygiene. Subjects were students going to dental hygiene-related department of three colleges in the Gwangju and Jeonnam areas. College life and life satisfaction was examined at general characteristics. The following results were obtained. 1. Subjects included 35.7% of 1st grade, 33.4% of 2nd grade, and 30.9% of 3rd grade. In the health state, average accounted for the highest percent(76.9%); in the student's associates, a little for the highest percent(76.8%); and in the participation in clubs, no participation for the highest percent(77.1%). 2. For motives to select the dental hygiene, good employment after graduation accounted for the highest percent(61.0%). The highest desired employer was a dental clinic(33.5%), and the highest desired duration was a whole life(61.0%). 3. According to the grade, satisfaction was significantly different in social recognition, major in education, professor, facilities, professor-student, career, and college development(pE0.05). 4. According to the school record, satisfaction was significantly different in social recognition, major in education, professor, professor-student, career, college development, and general life(pE0.01). 5. According to the student's associates, satisfaction was significantly different in social recognition, major in education, professor-student, and general life(pE0.01). 6. According to the participation in clubs, satisfaction was significantly different in professor, facilities, college development, and religious life(pE0.05). In conclusion, as students were in the lower grade, made good school record, had happier associates, and participated in clubs more actively, their satisfaction at college life became higher. Accordingly, professors and school authorities should strive to examine students' actual problem and discuss and resolve them in order to help their effective school life.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.836-844
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• 2015

The objective of this research is to analyze geographical distribution of Korean dental hygienists to provide the geographical basis of supply-side policy for dental hygienists from the perspective of dental geography by using Geographic Information System (GIS) in which the choropleth map has been regarded as the most popular method. The present report is highly meaningful for the policy of dental hygienist on the supply side of dental care market. The data used in the article derive from the statistics-associated portal site provided by Korean government. It includes the statistics on general population, the regional numbers of dental hygiene students, county-based numbers of registered dental hygienists, dentists, and dental clinics and hospitals. Several maps are created by investigating these statistical data with GIS. This study is focused on the comparative analysis between entrants to the department of dental hygiene, registered acting dental hygienists and dentists in terms of county-based distribution per its population. The main result demonstrates that whereas about half of dental hygienists and dentists are respectively concentrated in Seoul and Gyung-gi, just one-fifth of entrants to the department of dental hygiene in the Seoul-metropolitan area. From the perspective of the supply-side policy of dental hygienists, the research argues that the creation or expansion of the department of dental hygiene does not directly meet social need for dental care services.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Dental Administration
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.14-24
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• 2021

Dentists and dental hygienists are major collaborators, as expressed by the concept of "Four-handed dentistry." Dentists are guaranteed their legal duties and rights in accordance with the Medical Act, whereas dental hygienists are currently stipulated in the scope of their legal duties under the Act on Medical Technicians. However, there is a difference between the actual work and the legal work performed by dental hygienists; therefore, the work is dependent on many legal controversies and authoritative interpretations. The purpose of this study is, first, to develop a reliable questionnaire tool regarding the actual work performed by dental hygienists in dental hospitals and clinics, and second, to examine the awareness of the appropriateness of legal work based on the developed questionnaire. The target subjects of the survey were dental hygienists and dentists, and the dental hygienists were those who worked in dental hospitals and clinics as license reporters of the Korean Dental Hygienists Association. A total of 1,294 dental hygienists and 39 dentists were included in the final analysis. In the dental hygienist group, 19 items received the response "appropriate for legal work" in over 90% of cases, accounting for 25% of the total 76 items. In addition, in a total of 31 items, more than 80% of the responses were appropriate for legal work. Among them, the highest was 'Scailing' (97.7%), followed by "Extraoral-Panorama" (97.1%). In the dentist group, 10 out of 76 items showed over 90% adequacy for legal work, and among them, "instrument cleaning and sterilization" was the highest at 100%. It was followed by "Intraoral radiography," "Scailing," and "Toothpick method, TPM" with 97.4%. In the case of dentists, 28 out of a total of 76 items showed an appropriateness of more than 80% for legal work. This study comprehensively investigated the actual work of dental hygienists in line with timely and appropriate social issues and provided reliable statistics in evidence-based dentistry.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.207-212
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• 2006

In parallel with social and economic progress, motives of patients to consult dentists have increased and diversified. An increasing number of people visit dental clinics to improve their facial appearance and masticating functions deteriorated largely due to malocclusion. There is also greater interest in and concern as well as demand for teeth alignment treatment among people. Under this situation, it is required to find and suggest ways to enhance quality and profitability of dental care in view of managerial needs for dentists to cope with changing circumstances. This study, thus, aims to measure satisfactions of orthodontics patients and to determine the elements influencing their satisfactions. For this aim, a survey was performed for 20 days from March 7th to 26th, 2005 by means of questionnaires distributed to randomly selected samples, resulting in following conclusions: 1. From comparison of satisfactions with dental service by their elements, higher satisfaction was reported from orthodontics patients in the element of dental hygienists(4.21). Least satisfaction, however, was found in the procedure for treatment and waiting hours(3.73). 2. By gender, male orthodontics patients turned out to be more satisfactory with dental service than females. In terms of intention for return visits, both male and female orthodontics patients showed higher satisfaction than non-orthodontics ones. 3. As for satisfaction with dental service by age of orthodontics and non-orthodontics patients, with regard to intention for return visit, orthodontics patients of all ages showed to have higher grade of satisfaction. 4. Regarding satisfaction with dental treatment by orthodontics and non-orthodontics patients by monthly income, Dental hygienist with intention for return visit, the higher the satisfaction of orthodontics patients. 5. In regard to satisfaction with dental treatment by education, higher satisfaction was expressed by orthodontics patients with elementary school education kept dentist, dental hygienist and internal and external environments. As a result from this study, we knew that dental service of the orthodontics patients is higher satisfaction than that of the non-orthodontics patients.

• Journal of Korean Dental Hygiene Science
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.29-37
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• 2021

Background: The selection of an occupation is typically based on individuals' personalities and the characteristics of occupations, which significantly affect occupational consciousness. The present study aimed to enhance the occupational achievement level of and provide fundamental data for student counseling in order to develop competitive professional workers by understanding the occupational consciousness of freshmen and motivating them as dental hygienists with career development plans, as freshmen majoring in dental hygiene eventually play a significant role in the field of dentistry as dental hygienists. Methods: The surveys were distributed to 160 freshmen in the dental hygiene department and were subsequently collected. The data from 142 surveys were used for analysis, as 18 surveys were excluded due to insincere responses. The survey contents included questions related to major selection and satisfaction, including motives for selecting a dental hygiene major, prior knowledge on a dental hygiene major and a career as a dental hygienist, satisfaction level of the major, and reasons for dissatisfaction in cases if applicable, as well as questions related to occupational consciousness, including career prospects for dental hygienists, opinions on the occupation, and conditions of job selection. Results: High employment rate with good salary level ranked highest (43.7%) among motives to apply the dental hygiene major, followed by the desire to be a professional worker (21.1%) and recommendation by acquaintances. Of those who responded, 50.7% indicated a normal level of satisfaction with the major, and 69.9% responded that they had prior knowledge regarding the dental hygiene major and/or field of dental hygiene. These results may be due to youth unemployment and the occurrence of job preparation immediately after students enter university, which is a result of the difficulty in job seeking. In terms of career prospects, 48.6% of students responded with "growing a little bit," followed by "growing a lot" (28.9%), "no difference from now" (21.1%), and "other" (1.4%). Regarding opinions on the occupation, 65.5% responded that occupation was an tool with which to make and income or a living, 23.2% responded that occupation was for dreams and self-realization, and 11.3% responded that occupation was for success in life and maintaining social status. Regarding the conditions of job selection, the responses included that the workplace had good working conditions (39.4%), good interpersonal relationships (21.8%), and a higher salary (18.3%). This may reflect the change in work ethics among university students, according to the trend of the times. Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, we found that educational guidance to enhance the level of satisfaction with the major, and career guidance to understand and apply the clear vision and long-term job security are necessary.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.491-503
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to identify the importance of perception and communication ability among dental hygienists and provide evidence for the activation of communication education necessary to improve communication ability required in the actual dental field. Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted on 227 members attending conservative education in 2020. Results: The following are mean scores of each area of communication according to importance: message conversion ability, 3.82 points; interpretation ability, 3.74 points; goal setting ability, 3.51 points; self-expression ability, 3.48 points; and role performance ability, 3.46 points. The ability was interpreted in the following order: interpretation ability, 3.61 points; message conversion ability, 3.56 points; role performance ability, 3.43 points; self-expression ability, 3.32 points; and goal setting ability, 3.10 points. The highest score in terms of importance of awareness was 4.27 points, the highest among interpretive abilities, that is, to 'listen carefully to know what the other person intends to say.' When it comes to communication skills, the highest score was 4.12 points for 'a nod or a facial expression of understanding while listening to each other.' Conclusions: In devel oping a training program related to communication for dental hygienists at the clinical site, the curriculum reflecting seven items that needs improvement should be revised; and through this, it is expected that dental hygienists' communication skills will be improved.