• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.1-12
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• 2012

The objective of this study was to identify the current status of use and respective work scopes of dental hygienists and nursing assistants as perceived by dentists, thereby obtaining a model for how to efficiently use oral health assistance personnel. This study was based on a self-reported survey administered to a total of 126 dentists. The following findings were observed. Where competition among neighborhood clinics was relatively high, nursing assistants tended to be used as a resource to assist dental hygienists, whereas where it was relatively low, they were more likely to be considered to work as full substitutes for regular dental hygienists. Looking at the scopes of practice, dental hygienists were allowed to deal with matters of preventive care, oral health education, and health insurance claims. On the other hand, nursing assistants were allowed to be in charge of taking X-ray pictures from the outside and inside of mouth and keeping medical devices clean and safe. This study is expected to contribute to establishing more reasonable oral heath personnel structure design decisions.

• Journal of Korean Dental Hygiene Science
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.51-62
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate the status and views on the dental team composition and works, the experience of a dental manpower shortage and opinions on the solution. The subjects were 313 dentists and dental hygienists. The mobile questionnaires were conducted on the status of dental team composition and works, the experience of a dental manpower shortage and opinions on the solution. There was no big difference between the current dental team composition and ideal composition ratio, and dentists answered that it would be more ideal to reduce dental hygiene and increase nurse assistant when the working dentist was 3~5. 85.6% of the dentists and 56.4% of the dental hygienists had difficulty in employing the dental auxiliary personnel. The difficulty level was 8 out of 10 points among dentists and 5.7 points among dental hygienists. 91.1% of the dentists and 95.5% of the dental hygienists agreed on the necessity of expanding the dental hygienist's work. The dental works were temporary crown making and setting, surgical operation assistance, and overall dental assistance. Based on the results of this study, it is necessary to continuously make efforts to communicate with the dental personnel in Korea to solve a lot of problems such as the job assignment, the dental personnel policy and system, and the work environment.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.403-417
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• 2006

The purpose of this study is that level of community members about dental hygienist's job of cognition and perception. The subjects of this survey were 500 of community members located in Gumi, Seoul, Incheon, Wonju.(response rate 92%) The results of study could be summarized as follows: 1. Women, 30 age group, officer and house keeper who had were experienced scaling higher level cognition of dental hygienist than another groups. 2. The group that had experienced oral examination, oral health consult, and the young group who had not experienced prosthodontic treatment had higher perception that dental hygienist main role is oral health care education. 3. The student who had experienced scaling had higher perception that dental hygienist's main role is oral disease prevention. 4. Over 30 age, women group who had experienced dental treatment between 6 month and 2 years had higher perception that dental hygienist main role is dental assistance At the conclusion of this investigation, We investigated that person's perception and cognition is promoted through scaling. Therefore we have to increase opportunity of oral health prevention and education role. In addition, we should notify dental hygienist with uniform, name tag and information about dental hygienist.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.155-162
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• 2020

Background: Despite the demand for greater competence of dental hygienists in recent times, and the consequent standardization of systems in the organizations, there is a lack of a proper system for hierarchal positions of dental hygienists. The aim of this study was to identify the tasks performed by Korean dental hygienists in various work settings and hierarchal positions to suggest a standardized system for task-related hierarchal positions. Methods: A survey was conducted by sending questionnaires to 966 dental hygienists, and responses from 757 participants were included in the final analysis. The survey comprised questions regarding participants' general characteristics, tasks, current positions, and the internal policies or standards of the respective organizations to define these positions. The participants' positions were analyzed as frequency and cross-sectional analysis with respect to their general characteristics, their place in the organizational charts, the size of their workplaces, and differences in the tasks performed. Results: Data showed that 82.6% of the hospitals and clinics in Korea have organizational systems to determine the positions, and there was a significant difference in the systems according to the size of the health facility (p<0.05). The standards or policies used to define positions within general or university hospitals were determined by internal regulations or bylaws, whereas work experience was the major determinant of positions in smaller dental hospitals or clinics. The main tasks performed by dental hygienists in Korea were dental assistance (81.2%), routine dental hygiene tasks (53.4%), and administrative tasks, such as reception and billing (46.1%). Conclusion: Most dental hygienists in Korea are actively involved in dental assistance. Therefore, their specific tasks and responsibilities should be standardized more effectively. The data obtained from this study can be used to establish a standardized position system.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.53 no.10
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• pp.705-711
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• 2015

South Korea's oral health care non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have played a crucial role in South-North relations, although a formal intergovernmental relationship is difficult to establish and also easily breaks down. Humanitarian assistance by NGOs in the oral health care sector is an area that receives wide support from South Korean society for its urgency and for its appeal to humanity. This humanitarian assistance started in the late 1990's and continued to grow until the late 2000's. This assistance continued throughout the tension between the two administrations that resulted in a radical decrease in overall assistance from South Korea to North Korea. However, concerns remain about the transparency and efficiency of NGO activities. In this article, the NGOs and their major activities are delineated, and South Korean legislation is examined. A current act, the Law on the Development of South and North Korean Relations serves as a basis for governmental regulation and support of NGO's. Humanitarian assistance in the oral healthcare area is directly related to the oral health of the North Korean people, and it should not be influenced by political changes. Long-term planning and close discussions between NGOs, their North Korean counterparts, and the South Korean government are needed. NGOs need to overcome their shortcomings such as a lack of expertise and shortage of financial support. For this, NGOs must improve their administration transparency and professionalism.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.97-106
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• 2020

Background: In Korea, laws for many medical technicians were revised in the Enforcement Decree of the Medical Technicians Act (MTA), which was announced on December 2018, whereas those related to dental hygienists remained unchanged. This study aimed to determine the awareness and opinions of dental hygienists regarding MTA. Methods: Dental hygienist were recruited as participants via convenient sampling in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, and Chungcheong-do; data from 291 self-reported questionnaire responses were used for the final analysis. We investigated the participants' general characteristics, awareness, and request for the amendment of the MTA. The compliance with the work scope specified in the MTA and level of demand for revision of the MTA were analyzed by independent t-test and one-way analysis of variance. For all statistical analyses, the significance level was set at 0.05. Results: For the 2018 MTA revision, 99 (34.02%) knew that dental treatment assistance and surgery assistance were excluded, whereas 192 (65.98%) did not know. The item "The current medical technician law must be revised" was scored 4.13±0.80 out of 5 points, and significant differences were identified according to the education level, career, and position (p<0.05). The item "It is necessary to institutionalize the expanded work scope beyond the work scope of dental hygienists specified in the MTA" was scored 4.02±1.04 out of 5 points, and significant differences were identified according to age (p<0.05). Conclusion: The participants wanted the MTA to be revised to reflect the real-world work performed by dental hygienists in the dental clinical field. The legal system must ensure the legal protection of the work area of the dental hygienist as an oral health professional, and recognize the legal work scope of the dental hygienist.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.396-407
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• 2023

Background: This study investigated the awareness and utilization of maternity protection and work-family balance support policies among dental hygienists in dental hospitals and clinics. Methods: We surveyed 200 dental hygienists. Twenty-two who did not meet the inclusion criteria were excluded, leaving 178 participants for analysis. The self-administered 48-item questionnaire gathered information on demographics, workplace details, policy awareness, government knowledge, and suggestions for improvement. Results: Awareness of maternity and family support programs significantly differed with age, marital status, number of children, and clinical experience. Dental hygienists in general hospitals and university hospitals reported greater ease of utilizing these policies compared to those in dental clinics. Among the participants, 27.7% took pre- and post-maternity leave, 26.6% took parental leave, 16.9% had reduced working hours during pregnancy, 15.8% had reduced working hours during childhood,and 8.5% during family leave. To promote program uptake, participants suggested mandatory implementation across workplaces (68.4%), expanded support for substitute workers (48.6%), and increased education and promotion of government support (42.4%). Conclusion: While most dental hygienists were aware of the Maternity Protection and Work-Family Balance Assistance Policy, utilizing it proved challenging due to several factors. Organizational policies or practices may not fully implement this policy, while workplace culture could discourage its use. Unfair treatment and the lack of available substitutes further hindered access. To prevent career interruptions for dental hygienists due to pregnancy, childbirth, childcare, and family care, and to maintain career continuity, the dental community and government should establish a multifaceted social support system. This system should prioritize several key areas: strengthening policy promotion, fostering a family-friendly atmosphere, improving management and supervision of policy implementation and developing a robust support system for substitute personnel.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.713-726
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• 2013

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to develop a job performance assessment tool for dental hygienists. Methods : The development consisted of three steps. The first step was to construct the contents of the assessment tool and a pretest questionnaire. In the second step, validity and reliability tests were done and modified for the pretest questionnaires and an assessment tool was made. The third step was verification of the assessment tool. A total of 678 data from the dental hygienists were analyzed to verify the validity and reliability. The assessment tool consisted of two areas such as job performance and competency/attitude: the job performance area covered four sub-areas including oral health education, preventive dental care, assistance for dental treatment, and administrative management. Results : The number of questions and reliability test result for each sub-area were as follows. Reliability coefficient for oral health education (10 questions) was 0.899, preventive dental care (8 questions) was 0.861, assistance for dental treatment (18 questions) was 0.915, administrative management (8 questions) was 0.919, competency of dental hygienists (11 questions) was 0.947, and attitude of dental hygienists (15 questions) was 0.955. Cronbach ${\alpha}$ coefficient for reliability of total 70 questions of the assessment tool was 0.980. Conclusions : The validity of the assessment tool was verified by three steps and the reliability proved to be significant. Consequently the assessment tool was found to be useful as an objective and valid job performance assessment tool for the dental hygienists.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.153-166
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• 2007

The job of dental hygienists is specialized, and they have to be capable of performing their primary duties including prevention of oral diseases, oral prophylaxis, and oral health education. To ensure their successful job performance, dentists should have an accurate understanding of their duties and need a change of mind-set about them. And there should be written legal and concrete regulations on the coverage of their work in order to let them boost their job performance with pride and a sense of responsibility. The purpose of this study was to examine the actual roles and job performance of dental hygienists in clinical field in an attempt to discuss the substantial job performance of dental hygienists and their job enlargement. It's basically meant to help enhance the efficiency and quality of medical services. The subjects in this study were 471 dental hygienists in dental clinics, dental hospitals, university hospitals and general hospitals across the nation, on whom a survey was conducted in person from March 2 to 25, 2005. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS Win 12.0 program, and the findings of the study were as follows: 1. The major jobs they currently performed included oral health education, hospital management, simple duties, extensive dental hygiene duties and joint treatment assistance. They hoped to continue to be responsible for oral health education, preventive treatment and extensive dental hygiene duties. 2. As for their current job by age, extensive dental hygiene duties, preventive treatment, joint treatment assistance, preserving treatment, prosthetic treatment and pediatric treatment were most conducted by the dental hygienists who were at the age of 26 to less than 31, and those who were at the age of 31 and up were most responsible for hospital management and simple duties. 3. As to job awareness by workplace, their workload was statistically significantly different according to their workplace. The hospital employees took care of more work than those in clinics. 4. Concerning job awareness by age, the younger dental hygienists suffered more role conflicts and were given a less free hand in work handling, the middle-aged group's job was uncertain. Legal regulations about the coverage of their work should be prepared in detail as a measure to stir up their responsible job performance and pride. In order to take advantage of experienced dental hygienists, their duties should be more differentiated and specialized, and their working conditions should be improved to boost their job satisfaction. That is, they should be given ample chances for promotion and serving as a middle manager and be given fair treatment according to their career. If their work is accurately darified and specialized based on career, it will boost the efficiency of dental treatment. Dental hygienists also should direct sustained efforts into self-development in order to become a skilled and professional oral health personnel.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.505-513
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• 2017

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify the needs of independent dental hygiene practices in the Korean public dental hygienists. Methods: This research was a cross-sectional survey study. 159 Korean public dental hygienists were selected by simple random sampling on March 10, 2017. 133 public dental hygienists were participated, after excluding 26 hygienists who showed insufficient responses. The respondents were asked to select one of the following options to reflect their needs: direct supervision, indirect supervision, and independent dental hygiene practice. Results: The results showed that the public dental hygienists wanted both public oral health practices (62.5%) and assistance in preventive dental treatments (63.4%) to be performed independently. Conclusions: The public dental hygienists were required to independently perform oral health education and fluoride mouth rinsing projects. Dental hygienists should improve their capability of independently practicing dental hygiene first, and then indicators. It should be established and measured to evaluate their competency in this respect. Legal protection should be considered for independent dental hygiene practices.