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Pippi R, Bagnato F, Ottolenghi L. Oral Health Literacy: How much Italian people know about the dental hygienist. J Clin Exp Dent. 2017;9(1):e13-e20doi: 10.4317/jced.52950.
Pippi, R., Bagnato, F., & Ottolenghi, L. (2017). Oral Health Literacy: How much Italian people know about the dental hygienist. Journal of clinical and experimental dentistry, 9(1), e13-e20. https://doi.org/10.4317/jced.52950
Pippi, Roberto, et al. "Oral Health Literacy: How much Italian people know about the dental hygienist." Journal of clinical and experimental dentistry vol. 9,1 (2017): e13-e20. doi: https://doi.org/10.4317/jced.52950
Pippi R, Bagnato F, Ottolenghi L. Oral Health Literacy: How much Italian people know about the dental hygienist. J Clin Exp Dent. 2017 Jan 01;9(1):e13-e20. doi: 10.4317/jced.52950. eCollection 2017 Jan. PMID: 28149457; PMCID: PMC5268122.
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J Clin Exp Dent. 2017 Jan 01;9(1):e13-e20. doi: 10.4317/jced.52950. eCollection 2017 Jan.

Oral Health Literacy: How much Italian people know about the dental hygienist.

Journal of clinical and experimental dentistry

Roberto Pippi, Flavia Bagnato, Livia Ottolenghi

Affiliations

  1. Associate Professor, Oral Surgery Unit, Department of Odontostomatological and Maxillo Facial Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome.
  2. Dental hygienist, Department of Odontostomatological and Maxillo Facial Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome.
  3. Full Professor, Preventive and Community Dentistry, Department of Odontostomatological and Maxillo Facial Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome.

PMID: 28149457 PMCID: PMC5268122 DOI: 10.4317/jced.52950

Abstract

BACKGROUND: People with poor OHL have the highest level of oral diseases and the worst oral treatment results. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the degree of knowledge of the role of the dental hygienist in patients who go to a public dental facility for the first time.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to the patients with the "face-to-face" mode during a 12-month period. The principal component analysis, the general linear model and the chi-square test were used for the statistical analysis.

RESULTS: A total number of 900 questionnaires were completed. Sixty-seven per cent of patients know that a specific degree is needed to practice dentistry and 93.1% of them know that a specific educational qualification is required to practice the dental hygienist profession. Sixty-three per cent of the subjects were aware of dental hygienist's activities. There is no patient preference of gender as far as both dentist (84.11%) and dental hygienist (85.11%) are concerned. Seventy-five per cent of patients claimed to know what "dental hygiene" means and 65% of them believed that a good level of oral hygiene was important for oral disease prevention. Both qualification and marital status of patients are significantly associated with the patient's level of knowledge of the dental hygienist profession. Patients with "High" scholastic qualifications showed significantly higher scores than those with "Low" qualifications. Married patients have less knowledge than widows/widowers, while divorced patients have greater knowledge than widows/widowers.

CONCLUSIONS: Patients' educational qualification itself only partially justifies the apparent high level of knowledge of patients about the dental hygienist's role.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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