• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.85-95
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to examine dental hygienists' knowledge of implant operation, which is recently emerging as one of the important medical services in the dental treatment sector. It's ultimately intended to serve as a basis for the preparation of more effective, appropriate implant-education programs for dental hygienists and to help them, who take a crucial part in implant operation, provide better dental services to patients who are in need of implant operation. The subjects in this study were 368 selected dental hygienists who were working in the dental institutions in the region of Taegu. The results of this study were as below: 1. The largest number of the dental hygienists investigated, 34.1%, were at age 25 to 27. The second most common age was 24 and under, and the third most common age group was 28 to 30. For educational level, most of them, 91.0%, were junior-college graduates, and 9.0% were being in or graduated from four-year-course university. Concerning career, 52.7%, the greatest percentage, had worked for one to three years, and 41.3% had a four-year or higher career. 812%, most of them, were working in dental clinics, and 18.3% were serving in dental hospital or general hospital. 2. Many of the dental institutions were providing implant operation services, as the dental institutions where 64.9% of the subjects were working conducted implant operation. In relation to the necessity of implant operation, the dominant opinion, 73.0%, was thai it's needed to make oral slate healthier. So there was a strong tendency to ad mit implant as one of the necessary treatments in the dental treatment sector. 3. Their collective mean implant knowledge got $57.02{\pm}14.11$. And the collective average of 21 items was $2.7153{\pm}0.6720$ on the basis of 5 points, which was below the average(3 points of Likert scale). This meant that the dental hygienists didn't have a good knowledge or understanding of implant. When it's taken into account what role should be performed by dental hygienists, their implant knowledge should be increased. 4. As a result of examining the effect of the general characteristics on their implant knowledge, the educational level(t=-3.481, P=0.001) and the type of dental institution where they were working(F=16.476, P=0.001) made a significant difference. 5. Their implant knowledge was significantly different according to whether or not the dental institution they were serving conducted implant operation (t=7.199, P=0.001). And, whether or not they agreed to the necessity of implant operation also generated a significant difference to their implant knowledge(F=8.610, P=0.000).

• Journal of Technologic Dentistry
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.15-22
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• 2009

This study examined and analyzed the demographical characteristics of the study target and their expectancy level on the factors in selecting dental medical institutes (basic elements of dental clinics, traffic convenience, physical environment of dental clinic and explicit qualification of dentist) with the questionnaire survey method with 222 questionnaires answered and returned (return rate 88.8%) out of 250 copies distributed to the 1st, 2nd and 3rdyear college students attending technical colleges located in Cheongwon-Gun, Chungbuk, Korea from March 26 to April 7, 2009. The results of this study are as follows: 1. The demographical characteristics of the study target group consisting of 225 college students include 92.3% of age 20s (205 students); 123 males (55.4%) and 99 females (44.6%); the number of those who had at least one experience to visit dental clinic was 199 (89.6%) and 23 (10.4%) of those with no-visiting experience. 2. The descriptive statistics for the selection factor showed that basic elements, traffic convenience, physical environment and explicit qualification of dentist were regarded important as in order. In particular, the factors considered in selecting dental clinic was ordered from most to least in their importance beginning with cleanness of dental clinic as the most important factor, dentist's trustworthiness, kindness of medical staffs, low medical fee, dentist's knowledge level, modernized medical equipments and convenience in using medical facilities as the least. On the contrary, brand name of dental clinic, age, college, sex and appearance of dentist were rated low in order in terms of their importance in selecting dental clinic. 3. As for the difference in the selection factors across demographical characteristics, while male students placed importance on traffic convenience and physical environment of dental clinic, female students placed more importance on dentist's qualification and basic elements of dental clinic. With respect to the difference in the selection factors across the visiting experiences, while those with visiting experience regard traffic convenience more importantly, those without visiting experience regarded physical environment of dental clinic, dentist's qualification and basic elements of dental clinic. 4. In terms of pearson correlation coefficient, the result showed that all aspects in selecting dental clinic were positively correlated. Particularly, the correlation between physical environment of dental clinic and dentist's explicit qualification were correlated highest. Significant positive correlations were found high in traffic convenience, physical environment of dental clinic, dentist's explicit qualification and basic elements of dental clinic in order.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.222-232
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• 2022

Background: Self-leadership, an action strategy that can maximize individual capabilities, can affect the organizational commitment of dental hygienists and ultimately improve the quality of medical services. This study aims to demonstrate the need for self-leadership and organizational commitment for dental hygienists and develop measures to improve the quality of medical services. Methods: An online survey of dental hygienists working at dental hospitals and clinics in Seoul and Gyeonggi province, Republic of Korea was conducted from March 28 to May 1, 2022. A total of 341 questionnaires were returned and analyzed. The measurement tools were modified and supplemented based on the theories and models developed by Manz for self-leadership, Mowday for organizational commitment, and Cronin and Taylor for medical services. Descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, ANOVA, simple regression, and multiple regression analyses were performed using SPSS 25.0. Results: In leadership education, self-leadership is based on participation experience, the number of participants, and when and where it is received. Organizational commitment comes from participation experience, and the quality of medical services has been found to affect participation experience and location. Self-leadership had an effect on the quality of medical services (β=0.497, t=10.551, p<0.001; β=0.599, t=13.783, p<0.001; β=0.353, t=7.601, p<0.001) and organizational commitment was found to have a mediating effect. Conclusion: Dental hygienists' self-leadership has a positive effect on the quality of medical services through the formation of appropriate interrelationships within the organization. Therefore, self-leadership programs should be developed, participated in, and promoted to improve the self-leadership of dental hygienists. Moreover, hospitals should improve their environment to provide and improve self-leadership education.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.315-321
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• 2022

Objectives: Although the number of clinics offering temporomandibular joint (TMJ) physical therapy has been increasing to help with its treatment, the scope of dental physiotherapy reflected in the dental hygienist curriculum is very limited. This study aims to survey the status of dental physiotherapy work and the need for educating dental hygienists. Methods: An online community platform was used to survey 140 dental hygienists working in clinical dental hospitals. The survey included questions about general characteristics, the experience of dental physiotherapy work, the importance of physiotherapy work performance, and the need for physical therapy education for dental hygienists. Results: Half of the study participants had prior experience working in dental physiotherapy. Out of 140 participants, 88.6% agreed with the opinion that 'physical therapy work is important or that it will become important'. Furthermore, 84.3% agreed that 'physical therapy education is necessary for dental hygienists'. Even dental hygienists without physical therapy experience (50.7%) believed that related education would be necessary because of the importance of physical therapy work in dentistry. Conclusions: This study suggests the need for education in dental physiotherapy to help dental hygienists effectively perform clinical tasks.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.481-487
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to examine the perception of health-related majors in their third year of college about the image of a dental hygienist as prospective dental personnels. The findings of the study were as follows: 1. Concerning perception of the image of a dental hygienist by geographic region, the college students from large cities gave 89.07 to that, and the college students from small and mid-sized urban areas gave 85.03. The former gave higher marks to the image of a dental hygienist, and the gap between the two was statistically significant. By department, the students who majored in physical therapy gave the highest score of 88.93, dental technology and radiology gave the second highest score of 86.91. The clinical pathology gave the third highest score of 83.28, and the gaps among them were significant. 2. As for their perception of the four subfactors(qualifications, roles, social participation and interpersonal relationship) of the image of a dental hygienist by geographic region, there were statistically significant gaps in their way of looking at the qualifications, roles and interpersonal relationship of a dental hygienist. By department, the physical therapy majors gave the highest marks to all the four subfactors. 3. When they were asked to give one or more answers to the question what affected their image building about a dental hygienist, the largest number of the students that accounted for 67.9 percent replied that the looks of dental hygienists whom they saw in dental clinics or hospitals impacted on their image of a dental hygienist.

• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.158-167
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to study the effects of the utilization of ethanol solution in infection control of dental implant hand drivers, a common practice in dental prosthodontic clinics. Materials and Methods: Infection control methods were divided into two groups. One swabbed with 83% ethanol gauze and the other immersed in 83% ethanol solution for 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180 and 300 second intervals after inoculation of the dental implant hand drivers with Staphylococcus aureus. After measuring the number of colony forming units and analyzing the optical density, the effects of infection control in the experimental group were compared with the positive control group without infection control after inoculation with bacteria and the negative control group without inoculation with bacteria after sterilization. Results: The number of colony forming units and optical density analysis showed a statistically significant difference compared to the positive control. On the other hand, there was no statistically significant difference between the negative control and the group immersed in the 83% ethanol solution for more than 150 seconds. Conclusion: It is recommended to use the ethanol solution as a pre-cleaning process before sterilization, since the intermediate-level disinfection method using ethanol solution alone for the infection control of the dental implant hand driver cannot clinically secure the sterility.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.324-332
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• 2021

This study was conducted to investigate changes in dental visits in children and adolescents due to COVID-19. Based on the data provided by the Korea Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the number of dental visits among children and adolescents from January 2019 to August 2020, and the rate change according to Korean disease classification in 2019 and 2020 were analyzed by month and region. From January to August 2020, compared to the same period in 2019, the total number of visits to dental clinics and dental hospitals among children and adolescents decreased by 642,202 times (16.3%) in the 0 - 9 years old group, and 313,488 times (9.2%) in the 10 - 19 years old group. During the same period, the decreases due to Z29 (Need for other prophylactic measures) decreased by 118,219 times (34%) in the 0 - 9 years old group and 83,944 times (31%) in the 10 - 19 years old group, showing the greatest change. It is analyzed that overall dental service of children and adolescents has decreased due to COVID-19, and this may lead to deterioration of oral health of children and adolescents in the future, and this study can be used as a reference in case of an infectious disease such as COVID-19 in the future.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.447-453
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between objective oral health status determined by dentists, self-perceived subjective oral health status, and oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) in the elderly. The related factors affecting OHRQoL in the elderly were also surveyed. Four hundred and thirty elderly individuals who visited the three public health centers and four dental clinics in Busan were selected by convenience sampling. Twelve dental hygienists investigated the subjective oral health status and OHRQoL using the 14-item Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) and twentyone dentists examined the objective oral health status, including healthy remaining teeth, treated remaining teeth, functional remaining teeth, missing teeth, and non-treated missing teeth. Data were analyzed using SPSS ver. 12.0. OHRQoL was higher when oral and periodontal status was perceived as healthy, when there was no toothache, no interference in mastication, and when study subjects had the ability of food softening. It was also higher when study subjects had ${\geq}20$ remaining teeth and <9 missing teeth, and were wearing denture. The related factors affecting OHRQoL of the elderly were the type of medical insurance, toothache, ability of food softening, perception of periodontal status, and the number of healthy remaining teeth. There was a significant relationship between the subjective-objective oral health status and OHRQoL in the elderly. A continuous oral health care system aimed at retaining ${\geq}20$ healthy remaining teeth is needed to improve oral health and OHRQoL for the elderly, especially for the elderly receiving medical aid.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.759-767
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• 2013

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the oral health status of elderly people and their oral health-related quality of life. Methods : The subjects were the elderly people over 65 years old in Busan. A total of 479 elderly people participated in the study from general hospital, two research institutes, eight dental clinics, six welfare institutions, sixteen senior centers, and three nursing homes. The oral health impact profile-14 (OHIP-14) was used in the routine dental checkups of the elderly people. Results : Those who had no oral symptoms had a better oral health-related quality of life. Among the subfactors of the OHIP-14, significant differences were shown in functional limitation(p=0.001), physical pain(p<0.001), emotional discomfort(p<0.001), physical disability(p=0.001), emotional disability (p=0.001), social disability(p=0.005), physical handicap(p=0.003) and total OHIP-14(p<0.001). Those who had 18 sound teeth(natural teeth) or more had a better oral health-related quality of life. Among the subfactors of the OHIP-14, significant differences were shown in functional limitation(p<0.001), physical pain(p=0.007), emotional discomfort(p=0.019), physical disability(p=0.018), Emotional disability(p=.032) and total OHIP-14 (p=0.006). Conclusions : The results revealed a close relationship between oral health status and oral health-related quality of life. The number of sound teeth(natural teeth) and frequency of toothbrushing had a more positive influence. Therefore oral health programs for the elderly people can preserve remaining teeth. Toothbrushing is the best way to improve the quality of life in the elderly people.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.247-258
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• 2017

Objectives: This study was conducted to identify the correlation between belief in hand hygiene, activities and related hand hygiene performance rates among dental staff. Methods: This study was based on the evaluation of 329 dental practitioners, including dental hygienists who work at dental clinics, dental hospitals, general and university dental hospitals in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do Province, and Incheon. The questionnaire consisted of a total of 46 questions, including 7 questions on general characteristics, and 25 questions on hand hygiene beliefs, and 5 questions on hand hygiene activities, and 9 questions on hand hygiene practices. This study used 291 subjects for the final analysis, excluding subjects who had provided incomplete or inappropriate responses to the questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using an independent t-test, ANOVA, $x^2$ test, correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis, where p-values of <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: Longer clinical career was associated with a significant increase in behavior and norm beliefs, but no sequential difference in control beliefs. The hand hygiene performance was higher in staff at larger hospitals after contact with pollutants and contaminated environments. Higher age was associated with a significant increase in hand hygiene performance rates, but profession was not statistically significant in the performance rate of hand hygiene. The hand hygiene performance rate was ranked higher among those with average work hours per week of greater than 8 hours followed by those who worked fewer than 8 hours. Fewer work hours per week, a stronger belief in hand hygiene, less frequent exposure to contaminated environments, and a greater number of hand hygiene performance had a positive effect on higher hand hygiene performance rates. Conclusions: In order to increase the hand hygiene performance rate of dental practitioners, it is considered that required time for hand washing should be ensured sufficiently. Proper usage of hand sanitizers should also be promoted efficiently.