Prevalence of nontraditional dental hygiene practice.
There is little knowledge of the number or the work characteristics of dental hygienists outside the private-practice setting. This survey was conducted to determine the percentage of hygienists practicing in nontraditional (nonprivate-practice) settings and the types of settings in which they are employed. Mail questionnaires were returned from a total of 21,847 (56.9%) of the hygienists in the survey sample. The percentage of active hygienists practicing in nontraditional settings was 11.8. Dental or dental hygiene schools, and government and nongovernment-supported clinics were the most frequent nontraditional practice settings. State supervision requirements were found to be associated significantly with the prevalence of nontraditional hygiene practice.
D003749:Dental Facilities; D003756:Dental Hygienists; D003777:Dental Prophylaxis; D004651:Employment; D006801:Humans; D011364:Professional Practice; D012575:Schools, Dental; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States