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- Title
Achieving Autonomy in Dental Hygiene Practice through a School-Based Oral Health Program.
- Authors
Miller, Faith Y.; Lautar, Charla J.; Meyer, Jennifer M.; Summers, Dwayne G.
- Abstract
Purpose. Ensuring that all Americans have access to quality oral health care has become the primary focus of local, state, and federal government agencies; and the issue has also been placed on numerous legislative agendas. The purpose of the school-based project at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) Dental Hygiene Program (DHP) was to assist in meeting the goals outlined in the Oral Health in America: The Report of the Surgeon General, Healthy People 2010 (HP 2010), the Illinois Oral Health Plan (IOHP) and A National Call to Action to Promote Oral Health. Dental hygiene (DH) students play a significant role in meeting current access issues. Recent legislation in Illinois has allowed registered dental hygienists (RDHs) to practice under the general supervision of a dentist. Significance. To close the gap in the disparities concerning access to care, DH students have been utilized in multiple settings beyond the traditional and institutionally-based dental hygiene clinic. DH students are being used to staff school-based dental sealant programs as well as safety-net clinics serving a more diverse population including those clients with special needs. Since the students are still matriculating through school, relaxation of the supervision laws have increased the opportunities for those needing the most care to be seen and subsequently treated in facilities or remote sites by DH students who are supervised by the RDH. To date, the Dental Sealant Grant Program (DSGP) at SIUC has seen well over 250 what is considered at-risk, low-income children, placed approximately 400 sealants and has established a referral system for children requiring urgent or routine care through the campus-based Community Dental Center (CDC) and the Illinois Children's Health Foundation (ICHF), which is an extension of the CDC. Both clinics utilize DH students as primary clinicians, supervised by the DH program faculty. This approach to treatment, lends itself to meeting the oral health needs of the population through effective collaborations and partnering with entities within the community that continually seek such services as highlighted in the Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health, in addition to the IOHP. Conclusion: The SIUC DSGP employs the utilization of dental hygiene students under the general supervision of the RDH. The school-based oral health program can serve as one small step towards achieving autonomy in dental hygiene practice.
- Publication
Journal of Dental Hygiene, 2006, Vol 80, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
1043-254X
- Publication type
Academic Journal