• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.807-817
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• 2010

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to analyzes the job implementation of dental hygienist at dental hospital(university), dental clinic and general hospital in the city of Gwangju. Methods : The subjects in this study were dental hygienists who worked at dental hospital(university), dental clinic and general hospital in the city of Gwangju. A survey was conducted by post from June 10 to August 10. Out of the collected data, 204 answer sheets were analyzed. Results : 1. 'Medical & Dental history taking', 'Extra & Intra oral examination' and 'Dental hygiene care plane' in dental clinic were significantly higher than dental hospital(university) and general hospital(p<0.001). 'Remove of extrinsic stain' and 'Treatment of hypersensitivity tooth' in dental clinic and general hospital were significantly higher than dental hospital(university)(p<0.001). 'Preventive dental caries treatment' and 'Diet control' were shown the low frequency of job implementation. 2. Almost task elements of dental assistance duty shown that dental hygienists under the 24 years old were significantly higher dental hygienists over the 30 years old(p<0.05) and dental clinic and general hospital were significantly higher than dental hospital(university)(p<0.05) in frequency of job implementation. 3. 'Dental staff supervision', 'Patient management' and 'Dental chart arrangement' shown that dental hygienists over the 30 years old were significantly higher than dental hygienists under the 24 years old in frequency of job implementation(p<0.05). 'Infection control' of dental hygienists over 30 years old was significantly lower than dental hygienists under the 24 years old(p<0.001). Conclusions : The results of this study indicate that a scope of dental hygienists' job need to extend also in order to accomplish a job efficiently, is suggested that the effort is necessary to improve a quality of dental hygienist and to change of recognition of the dentist about dental hygienists' job.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.175-187
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the opinions of Korean dental hygienists on the Korean advanced dental hygienist system in Korea. Methods: The survey was conducted on 328 dental hygienists working at dental clinics and hospitals in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, Incheon, and Chungcheong-do. Collected data were analyzed with the frequency analysis, independent-samples t-test, and one-way analysis of variance after their reliability and validity were verified through the reliability, exploratory factor, and confirmatory factor analyses. Results: Respondents preferred sectoral advanced dental hygienists to integrated advanced dental hygienists, but 47.0% of respondents did not respond to this questionnaire item. To become an advanced dental hygienist, 'more than 5 years but less than 8 years' of clinical experience was appropriate according to 45.7% of the respondents and 'more than 30 h but less than 40 h' of training period was appropriate according to 25.9% of the respondents. Respondents thought that the duration of the training period for advanced dental hygienists would be directly proportional to expectations from the effect of advanced dental hygienists (p=0.023). Further, respondents who were usually interested in advanced dental hygienists showed higher expectations from the role (p<0.001) and effect (p<0.001) of advanced dental hygienists than those who were not interested. Conclusions: This study suggests various implications of the introduction of the advanced dental hygienist system in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Dental Hygiene Science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.165-174
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• 2022

Background: This study was conducted to investigate the actual status of dental hygienists' CPR-related educational experiences and the actual status of dental hygienists' CPR license retention, and to investigate the differences and correlations among CPR-related knowledge, attitudes, and performance abilities. Methods: An online self-reported questionnaire was filled out by 200 dental hygienists nationwide from May 6 to 29, 2019. The data regarding the sociodemographic characteristics, CPR-related knowledge, attitudes, and performance abilities were collected and analyzed using the chi-square test, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, and the Pearson correlation coefficient using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20.0. Results: Dental hygienists with CPR-related education experience showed high levels of knowledge in the area. Dental hygienists with CPR-related education experiences and dental hygienists with CPR licenses showed high CPR performance abilities. Positive correlations are observed among CPR-related knowledge, attitude, and performance abilities. Conclusion: As CPR-related education has been found to be of value and importance to dental hygienists, systematic educational programs as well as support for regular education will need to be implemented.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.507-521
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• 2009

This study purposed to analyze dental hygienists' job satisfaction according to their clinical career as an effort to enhance their job satisfaction and quality and to provide basic materials for dental hygienists' effective job performance. For this purpose, we surveyed 120 dental hygienists working at dental hospitals and clinics in Busan during the period from the $1^{st}$ February to $31^{st}$ March 2009 by using a self administered questionnaire. Job satisfaction was measured using a 5 point Likert scale ranging from 'Absolutely yes' (5 points) to 'Yes' (4), 'So so' (3), 'No' (2), and 'Not at all' (1), and a high score indicates high degree of satisfaction. When it testd the reliability of the job satisfaction scale was tested, Cronbach's Alpha (${\alpha}$) was 0.85 which indicates the instrument is sufficiently reliable. Data collected were analyzed with SPSS. We performed frequency analysis in order to examine the subjects' demographical characteristics, and Chi square and one way ANOVA to examine their perception of their job, job satisfaction, and their aptitude and status as a dental hygienists' according to clinical career. The results of this study were as follows. 1. The longer clinical career the dental hygienists had, the more they thought that they had aptitude as a dental hygienist (p<0.05). 2. The dental hygienists' turnover intention was different according to clinical career (p<0.01). 3. The longer clinical career the dental hygienists had, the more satisfied they were when they were working at a dental hospital or clinic equipped with convenience facilities (change room, lounge, etc.) (p<0.01). 4. The longer clinical career the dental hygienists had, the more power to make decisions they had and the more acknowledgement and trust they received from dentists (p<0.01). 5. Satisfaction with duty coordination was low in general, but it grew higher with increase in clinical career (p<0.01). 6. The longer clinical career the dental hygienists had, the more satisfied they were with patients' appreciation of their treatment (p<0.01). In addition, their time and opportunities to discuss with dentists were different according to clinical career, and their satisfaction with the items was higher when their clinical career was long (p<0.01). 7. As to their perception of dental hygienists' potential for development, they generally believed that they had potential for future growth with the expansion of their work scope (M=3.73). The longer clinical career the dental hygienists had, the more satisfied the more power to make decisions they had and the more acknowledgement and trust they received from dentists and their time and opportunities to discuss with dentists when they were working at a dental hospital or clinic equipped with convenience facilities (change room, lounge, etc.). The longer clinical career the dental hygienists had, the more they thought that they had aptitude as a dental hygienist. In conclusion, the longer clinical dental hygienists' Career had, satisfaction was able to take a highness to a dental hygienist occupation.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.785-792
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• 2021

Objectives: Dental hygienists are an essential human resource in dental service organizations. However, there are several important persisting problems faced by them, that need to be solved. The purpose of this study was to explore the current situation in dental hygiene education institutions, number of active dental hygienists, and employment distribution across South Korea. Methods: The study gathered statistics of dental hygiene educational institutions, the ratio of active dental hygienists and the number of dental hygienists working across South Korea from officially reviewed websites. Results: Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions house the most number of colleges with dental hygiene programs. The Daejeon and Chungnam regions had the most universities with dental hygiene programs. The activity ratio of dental hygienists decreased every year. Dental hygienists' employment was highly focused in the Seoul and Gyeonggi provinces. Conclusions: The survey data can be used as basic data for future dental hygienist education to cope with the shortage of active dental hygienists and regional imbalances. This could prove useful to consider the employment of dental hygienists appropriately.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.301-316
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• 2007

With these changes in the environment of dental service, dental hygienists are suggested to change their roles to cope with the changes. Hygienists are putting forth many efforts to promote smooth and efficient dental treatments, and as a practical measure. As a part to cope with such changes. Korea Dental Hygienists Association(KDHA) has prepared the system of Specialized Dental Hygienist and put the system into enforcement through an affiliated organization, Korean Academy of Dental Hygiene. The purpose of this study is to investigate the specialized nurse system in our country's medical environment and the specialized dental hygienist systems in other countries as similar cases comparable to the specialized dental hygienist system in our country and present basic data for the establishment of specialized dental hygienist system. For this study, a survey of dental specialists, such as dentists, dental hygienists and nurses, and patients, has been conducted qualitatively through person-to-person depth interview. The interview questions were related to the need for a specialized dental hygienist system, educational programs, functions and roles, and issues that must be solved for establishment of the system. Based on the interview results, the following conclusions were derived. The specialized dental hygienist system must encourage dental hygienists to possess advanced abilities in clinical practices, present systematic and developmental directions in educational programs, and stimulate specialized dental hygienists to actively work as manager and supervisor, medical health service providers, educators, and researchers. Lastly, for issues that must be solved for the establishment of the system, the duties and jobs of specialized dental hygienists must be defined more concretely, which must be acknowledged by people working in related occupations, citizens and the government. Furthermore, we need to examine the scope of duties of dental hygienists and enact laws and systems to protect the scope. These roles will lead dental hygienists to lay the foundation that allow them to make enthusiastic activities as an oral hygienist and clinician as well as show the way how to act as an educator, a researcher, a manager and an administrator.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.695-701
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• 2014

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the resilience and organizational commitment of dental hygienists for the improvement of organizational performance. Methods : A self-reported questionnaire was filled out by 323 dental hygienists from May 2 to June 5, 2014. The collected data were analyzed by a statistical package SPSS WIN 12.0. Results : The dental hygienists had the highest score in relationship(4.09), and had the lowest score in communicative competence(3.29). In organizational commitment, they had the highest score in affective commitment(3.20). There were statistically significant differences in that regard according to age(p<0.001), marital status(p<0.05) and career(p<0.001). The organizational commitment varied significantly with age(p<0.05) and career(p<0.01), and normative commitment significantly varied with the number of work days(p<0.05) and career(p<0.05). There was a significant correlation between the resilience and organizational commitment of the dental hygienists(p<0.001). Conclusions : The organizational commitment of the dental hygienists was better when they had a better resilience, and that resilience made a contribution to the improvement of organizational commitment in the clinical dental hygienists.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.635-643
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate dental hygienists understanding of the provisions of oral health care and awareness for the elderly. Methods: A survey was conducted among 285 dental hygienists, currently practicing around Gwangju province, Korea. The questionnaire contained questions on general characteristics of the subjects (5 items), oral health status of the elderly (5 items), and awareness (8 items) among the dental hygienists. The data were analyzed using a chi-square test. IBM SPSS 21.0 program was used for all statistical analyses. Results: The results showed that 47.7% of the dental hygienists took care of 1 to 5 elderly patients per day; they could not provide high quality oral health education to these patients because of lack of knowledge, lack of treatment time, and excessive workload. An analysis of the hygienists' professional educational experience related to oral healthcare of the elderly during university years showed that the older and more experienced hygienists' were less likely to have completed this education, i.e., 22.05% and 10.9%, respectively (p<0.001). Of all the dental hygienists, 62.8% were interested in oral health problems of the elderly, and 34.4% of dental hygienists for geriatric oral care were the most needed for geriatric oral care education (p<0.001). Conclusions: According to these results, it is important that dental hygienists participate in training on oral healthcare for the elderly and develop various programs for managing the oral health of the elderly.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.163-170
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• 2020

Background: Job satisfaction of dental hygienists has been discussed continuously in dental hygiene research. It has been the most representative performance variable in dental and human resource management. However, in quantitative research, most of the studies have analyzed the causal relationship with variables related to dental hygienists' job satisfaction. The existing qualitative research contains only the studies that targeted dental hygienists with an experience of more than 10 years. The present study aimed to understand and to characterize the job satisfaction of dental hygienists with an experience of 2 to 10 years and to compare it with the qualitative research on dental hygienists with an experience of 10 or more years. Methods: An in-depth interview of dental hygienists with 2 to 10 years of experience working in 10 dental clinics was conducted. For data analysis, Giorgi's analysis method was used. Results: After analyzing the meaning of job satisfaction of dental hygienists, 180 semantic words and 19 subcategories were derived. The results of the interview were categorized into for central meanings: recognition and rewards, work experience and ability improvement, occupational characteristics, and work characteristics. Recognition and rewards included workplace recognition, patient recognition, self-effort and recognition, and the feeling of being rewarded. Work experience and ability improvement included various work experiences and factors relates to improving the work ability. Occupational characteristics included professional job, interest and persistence, job extensibility, and no burden of employment. Work characteristics included working conditions and separation of work and private life. Conclusion: The development of tools to measure the level of dental hygienists' job satisfaction after long-term service and to conduct follow-up research regarding ways and effects to improve job satisfaction is needed.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.681-691
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• 2017

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between education experience, awareness and practice of infection control during the prosthodontic treatment in clinical dental hygienists. Methods: A self-reported questionnaire was answered by 255 clinical dental hygienists in Seoul and Gyeonggi areas from October 10 to December 30, 2016. The questionnaire consisted of general characteristics of the subjects (8 items), dental prosthesis infection education experience (5 items), dental prosthesis infection awareness (5 items) and dental prosthesis infection practice (14 items) based on Likert 5 point scale. For statistical analysis, SPSS Statistic 22.0 was used. Results: A significant association was shown among education experience, awareness and practice of infection control during the prosthodontic treatment of clinical dental hygienists (p<0.001). Dental hygienists count, dental prosthesis infection education experience and awareness had positive influences, but the age group from 26 to 30 had negative influence on dental prosthesis infection practice. Conclusions: The study confimed that the dental prosthesis infection education program and continued education is necessary for the safety and health of patients, and to prevent the cross-infections of the clinical dental hygienists.