• Journal of Korean Dental Hygiene Science
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.39-49
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to provide the basic data needed to plan the effective teaching design of scaling education and to measure the changes in students' confidence in performing scaling according to the number of scaling practices. Scaling education is presented as a core basic hygiene competency of dental hygienists and evaluated as the practical competency of dental hygienists. This study selected 48 third-year students from the department of dental hygiene at S University in Asan, and analyzed data from completed participant surveys. The degree of "confidence in facing the subject in clinical practice," "confidence in applying hand instrument to the subject," and "confidence in applying ultrasonic instruments to the subject" was assessed on a five-point Likert scale. The difference in confidence was analyzed during five practice sessions. Each response was compared using frequency analysis, chi-square test, and repeated measurement ANOVA. Students who complained of a lack of confidence in the 14.6%, 25.0%, and 12.5%, respectively, in face-to-face practice, hand instruments, and ultrasonic instrument application responses. The more the practice was repeated, the more confident students were in all three categories, and the more statistically significant (p<0.001). As the number of scaling practice sessions increased, students' confidence in performing scaling also improved. In particular, the level of self-confidence was higher after the third practice session when compared to the first session. Therefore, it is necessary to design effective courses for teaching scaling practices so that at least three repetitive practice periods can be provided in clinical dental hygiene practices.