• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.190-203
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• 2003

Background: Dental hygienists are at risk of acquiring infections through exposure to infectious agents. This study explores the frequency of exposure to infectious agents and infection control practices among dental hygienists. Methods: We undertook a cross-sectional survey to examine the exposure to infectious agents and infection control practices among dental hygienists through questionnaire. Data were obtained from 124 dental hygienists attending educational conferences. A multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the factors that effect infection control practices in relation to age, completion of infection control education, recognition of their own serum hepatitis Ag/Ab status, the number of one day patients, location of clinics, type of clinics, and career years. Result: Of the 124 dental hygienists, 91.7% were exposed to at least one accident such as needle stick injuries during their practices periods. The health screening coverage rate in dental hygienists was 16.5%. The number of one day patients and career years were important in relation to infection control practices among dental hygienists. The adjusted odds ratio estimates for career years were 5.049 times greater(95% Cl 1.238-20.597) for groups with over 4 career years than under 2 career years. That for the number of one day patients were 0.261(95% Cl 0.071-0.955) lower for through 20 up to 30 patients, 0.531(95% Cl 0.102-2.78) lower for through 30 up to 40 patients and 0.498(95% Cl 0.123-2.017) lower for more than 40 patients than under 20 patients. Conclusion: From these results, prevalence of infection control practices among dental hygienists is related to the number of one day patients and career years. Prevention of cross infection and reduction of future transmission should be a priority to dental hygienists for promotion of infection control and further efforts to educate newcomers on infection prevention should be made.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.295-302
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• 2013

The aim of this study was to make the infection control strictly from the school and to apply the infection control practice in dental clinic. It is asis on surveying the awareness attitude practice for the infection control when practicing the scaling to target the students in dental hygienics, preliminary dental hygienists who will ecome the main agents of the infection control in dental clinic and y diagnosing how much the knowledge and practice for the infection control are kept in a school. As a result of the present status on the current infection prevention, 55.0% of the total didn't perform it and 45.0% performed in case of the vaccination of type infection, and 88.6% asked a patient about the condition of the systemic disease when practicing the scaling, and as a result on the education for the infection prevention, most of the preventive aspect was also performed well ecause 91.6% was performing.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.463-470
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• 2014

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the association factors of infection control practice based on health belief model in the dental hygienists in dental clinics. Methods : A self-reported questionnaire was filled out by 278 dental hygienists in 160 dental clinics in Gwangju by a proportional stratified sampling method from September 13 to October 7, 2013. Data were analyzed by t-test, ANOVA, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis using SPSS version 12.0. Results : In multiple regression analysis, practice scores were significantly higher in aged dental hygienists and those who took infectious disease history from the patients before treatment. With regard to health belief model, perceived barrier was negatively associated with the practice(${\beta}$=-.16, p<.001), importance of infection control in hand hygiene(${\beta}$=.14, p=.026), and use of personal protective equipment(${\beta}$=.17, p=.043). The intention of action was positively associated with the practice(${\beta}$=.13, p=.002). Conclusions : This study will provide the basic evidence for the quality improvement of infection control and prevention. So the dental hygienists will be able to put into practice in infection control management.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.282-293
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to examine the degree of infection control implemented at dental offices and factors affecting it in an attempt to help promote the health of dental health care workers. The subjects in this study were 180 medical personnels who worked at dental offices in the region of South Jeolla Province. A self-administered survey was conducted from April 1 to May 30, 2008, and the collected data were analyzed. The findings of the study were as follows: 1. As for the implementation of infection control at the dental offices, what the health care workers investigated did the most was post-treatment hand washing(95.0), a constant separation of infectious wastes(94.4), wearing rubber gloves all the time during medical instrument cleansing(92.8) and pre-treatment hand washing(91.7). 2. In regard to the implementation of infection control at the dental offices, what the dental personnels did the least was drying their hands with air(5.0), wearing goggles in times of treatment(23.3), receiving regular education on infection control(26.7) and putting sterilizers to a performance test on a regular basis(43.9). 3. The dental health care workers were significantly different according to age in the management of contagious diseases(p=0.005). Their career made a significant difference to the management of contagious diseases(p=0.000) and instrument cleansing/sterilization(p=0.043). The service area made a significant difference to wearing and managing personal protective clothes (p=0.040) and waste management(p=0.040). 4. Concerning the relationship between the acquisition of dental hygienist certificate and the practice of infection control, whether the dental health care workers were certified or not made no significant difference to that. 5. As to the correlation among the factors affecting the prevention and management of contagious diseases, there was a positive correlation among hand washing(r=0.379), wearing and managing personal protective clothes(r=0.349), instrument cleansing/sterilization(r=0.323) and waste management(r=0.388). All the factors made a statistically significant difference to the prevention and management of contagious diseases(p<0.01).

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.430-436
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• 2015

This study examined the correlation of educational experience with practical behavior in infection control. Subjects were 152 dental hygienists in Gwangju from September 15 to October 5, 2015. The ratio of dental hygienists educated on infection control was higher in those worked in dental care with 2~4 dentist for 2~5 years and lower in those worked in dental cared with 1 dentist for 2~5 years (p<0.05, p<0.001). The dental hygienists with or without educational experience in infection control exhibited the highest activity rate in hand wash and the lowest in face protection. Barrier in health belief, was lower with the need for education in infection control among the factors affecting on the activity in infection control. The activity was higher with susceptibility and cue to action (p<0.05). Based on the results, education program on infection control should be developed, and applied periodically and obligatorily for dentist and all staffs of dental care to remove susceptibility and barrier, and to enhance cue to action. This will result the effective control of infection by elevating the health belief.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.227-235
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association factors of dental infection control by applying the health belief model in the dental hygienists. This study subject was 142 dental hygienists from 15 to July 5, 2020. Data were analyzed by chi-square test ANOVA, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis using SPSS version 23.0. The performance of dental infection control in accordance with the general characteristics of research subjects was high in case when they had educational experiences of infection control, and when they 'always' did medical examinations by interview about infectious diseases(p<0.01). The group of dental hygienists working for dental clinics with less than average 50 patients a day showed the highest rate of wearing a mask and latex gloves as personal protective gears(p<0.05),(p<0.01). When the wearing of protective goggles(face shield) and the frequency of exchanging masks after the outbreak of COVID-19 were more, the performance for infection control was increasing(p<0.05),(p<0.01),(p<0.001). In this study, it is difficult to generalize the results of the study because the research area and the subject are limited by selecting the subjects by convenience extraction, and focusing on the degree of awareness of infection control by dental hygienists, the actual status of infection control in dentistry is carefully illuminated. What you didn't do can be seen as a limitation. Considering the results of this study, the performance of infection control could be increased by removing obstacles and increasing the importance and perceived benefits of infection control of dental hygienists.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2021

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is transmitted primarily through droplets, and dental practitioners are at risk of occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection owing to direct contact with the patient's mouth, aerosols from dental procedures, and saliva. Wearing a mask is believed to be the best method of protection against infection, and a systematic literature review was conducted on whether the dental masks used in dentistry are effective in preventing Coronavirus Infectious Disease-19 (COVID-19). Methods: We used PubMed, Google Scholar, DBpia, NDSL, and KISS databases for this study. Of the 917 documents narrowed down by the search terms "Coronavirus, COVID-19, and dental," 83 documents were collected and studied. Ultimately, 42 of these papers were selected for analysis after considering duplication from the flow chart of the literature selection process. Results: While dental masks are often used when treating patients with unknown COVID-19 status, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated that the use of dental masks is insufficient in preventing cross-transmission of COVID-19; instead, it was recommended that N95 masks, which correspond to KF94 masks, should be worn daily. On the other hand, wearing a dental mask and following precautions such as hand hygiene may not pose a significantly higher risk of infection than wearing an N95 mask when treating COVID-19 patients. Conclusion: There is an ongoing discussion regarding the use of dental masks when treating dental patients, and many argue that different types of masks should be selected according to the degree of infection and the individual's respiratory condition. By considering the safety and efficacy of dental masks in preventing infection, improvements can be made in the management of COVID-19 and dental-related infections.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.397-404
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• 2014

This survey was conducted between January 15, 2014 and February 25, 2014 to investigate the practice for infection prevention among dental hygienists. Data were obtained from 294 dental clinic worker who worked in dental hospital (clinics) of Gwangju and Chonnam. At the conclusion of this investigation, according to the conclusion of this investigation, the necessity of infection control education for dental hygienists and washing their gowns after caring infected patients affected the practice for infection prevention. They also well practiced the infection prevention working in dental hospital. To prevent infection in dental clinic, it is necessary to provide the continuing education programs for dental infection control to dental clinic worker.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.343-350
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• 2023

Background: Digital panoramic dental X-ray equipment (PDX) is frequently used by patients and dental workers for diagnosis and examination in dental institutions; however, infection control has not been properly implemented. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to systematically review the potential risk of cross-infection in the dental environment by investigating the contamination level of general aerobic bacteria and Staphylococcus aureus, which are important in hospital infections, in PDX areas that people mainly contact. Methods: This survey was conducted from March to May 2023 and covered one general hospital, three dental hospitals, and nine dental clinics equipped with PDX. Bacteria samples were collected from the left-handle, right-handle, forehead support, and head side support as the patient's contact areas, as well as the X-ray exposure switch and left-click mouse button as the dental hygienist's contact areas of the PDX. The collected bacteria were spread on Petrifilm, and colonies formed after 48 hours of culture were counted. Results: General aerobic bacteria and S. aureus were detected in all areas investigated. Significant differences in bacterial counts between different regions of the PDX were observed in both groups (p<0.001). The detection rates of general aerobic bacteria (p<0.001) and S. aureus (p<0.001) were significantly higher in the contact areas of patients than those of dental hygienists. A positive correlation was observed between the forehead and the temple region in terms of general aerobic bacteria and S. aureus detection (r=1) (p<0.01). Conclusion: Taken together, the presence of many bacteria, including S. aureus, detected in PDX indicates that PDX has a potential cross-infection risk. Our results therefore highlight the need for the development of appropriate disinfection protocols for reusable medical devices such as PDX and periodic infection prevention training for hospital-related workers, including dental hygienists.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.263-269
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• 2007

To investigate the actual conditions management of infectious prevention in dental office, questionnaire about infection control and education of infection control was performed on 50 dentists, 176 dental hygienists, 100 aide nurses who are working in Deagu City from march to April, 2007. The results are as the following. Dentists are the highest on the health inspection's ratio, dental hygienists are the highest on vaccination's ratio. Experience ratio about education of infection control is the highest on dentist and the lowest on aide nurses(p < 0.05). Dental hygienists are higher than dentists and aide nurses on ratio of wearing protective gear(p < 0.05). Dentists have the highest ratio on washing hands after treat(p < 0.05). Practice of instrument's sterilization is higher in dental hygienist than other groups. Disinfection of equipment's surface practice mainly on bracket table, dental hygienist's ratio is the highest among the three groups.