PubMed · 1819844
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1991. Our first year.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1819844/
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OBJECTIVES: To analyse the working patterns of all those who qualified from the Liverpool School of Dental Hygiene over a 20-year period. To assess the proportion who give up practice, the degree of part-time work, career breaks, job satisfaction, availability of continuing professional education etc. METHOD: A questionnaire sent to all 226 hygienists who qualified from the School between 1997 and 1998, whether still enrolled as dental hygienists or not. RESULTS: Responses were received from 83% of whom 89% were still working as hygienists, the majority in general practice. 46% had taken an employment break, mostly for maternity reasons but a significant number for other reasons. Around 80% expressed good job satisfaction. Although there is a high level of part-time work, especially after career breaks, few had experienced difficulty in finding employment. One third of respondents considered that the availability of continuing professional education was 'poor' or 'very poor'. CONCLUSIONS: The great majority of hygienists enjoy good job satisfaction and work in more than one general dental practice. Comparisons suggest that they continue to work in their chosen career at least as much as female dentists do in theirs. The reasons for this are thought to be that hygienists tend to be recruited from the ranks of highly motivated, mature dental nurses and that the profession lends itself to part-time work which can be combined with family commitments. There are perceived deficiencies in the availability of continuing professional education, which may be remedied by the development of distance learning packages and Section 63 type courses designed specifically for them.
This paper explores the potential contributions to patients, the practice, the endodontist, and the dental hygienist that may be realized by the employment of one or more dental hygienists to serve as endodontic co-therapists in the delivery of endodontic treatment. An endodontic co-therapist is an individual who participates with the endodontist in the assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of treatment much like the periodontal co-therapist relationship that exists between periodontists and dental hygienists. Dental hygienists are ideal individuals for this role because of their education in basic, clinical, and behavioral sciences. Suggestions are provided for which services could be delegated by the endodontist to the dental hygienist during each phase of care. Advantages of this contemporary approach to the delivery of endodontic treatment are also addressed.
The aim of this study was to compare the ability and efficiency of dental hygienists, after preliminary training as orthodontic auxiliaries, with post-graduate orthodontists. The study was cross-sectional and prospective. The sample consisted of five second-year hygienists and five qualified orthodontists from Manchester University Dental Hospital. All subjects carried out a range of orthodontic exercises on phantom head typodonts. The ability and efficiency for each task was measured, and comparison made between hygienists and orthodontic groups. There was no statistically significant differences between hygienists and orthodontists in terms of their ability to carry out potential orthodontic auxiliary procedures. However, orthodontists were more efficient (P < 0.05). The ability of hygienists to carry out potential orthodontic auxiliary tasks after appropriate training is supported. Trained orthodontists are more efficient than newly trained hygienists in carrying out potential orthodontic auxiliary tasks.