title: A survey of dental hygienists in the United Kingdom in 2011. Part 1--demographics and working patterns as dental hygienists.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aims of this survey were to establish the demographic profile of dental hygienists (DHs) and dental hygienist/therapists (DH/Ts) in the United Kingdom in 2011 and their patterns of practice as DHs.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 10% sample of all those registered with the General Dental Council as DHs or DH/Ts in April 2011 were sent a pre-piloted questionnaire, explanatory letter and stamped addressed envelope. The questionnaire contained a total of 100 questions, 24 of which related to demographics and working patterns. All 100 questions were solely on tasks/work performed by DH, none related to other types of work performed by DH/Ts. Three mailings were distributed between May and July 2011. The resulting data were entered into an Excel spreadsheet. Where appropriate, differences between the responses from DHs and DH/Ts were statistically tested with the chi-squared test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five hundred and sixty-one DHs and DH/Ts were sent the questionnaire, by the third mailing 371 (66.1%) had responded and returned completed questionnaires. The respondents were 288 DHs, 79 DH/Ts and 4 who did not specify which category they were. The mean year of qualification of the DHs was 1990 and for the DH/Ts 2005. One hundred and twenty-four (33%) reported that they worked full-time, 235 (63%) part-time and the remainder that they were not working as DHs or DH/Ts or had retired. The average number of clinical hours worked per week was reported as 24.6 hours for DHs and 25 hours for DH/Ts, but there were regional variations. For DHs the mean percentage of patients treated under NHS contract was 15.5% and for DH/Ts it was 40.2%. Again there were regional variations and in Scotland these figures were 45.5% for DHs and 70% for DH/Ts. Two hundred and forty-eight (69%) of all respondents were either fully or partly self-employed and 221 (62.7%) worked in two or more locations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study provide a snapshot of the demographics and practice patterns of DHs and DH/Ts in the UK in the summer of 2011. They confirm the results of a survey that was conducted in England in early 2011 and of a survey that took place in Scotland in 2009.
authors.affiliation: University College London Eastman and King's College London Dental Institutes, London, UK. kenneth.a.eaton@btinternet.com
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Eaton
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arevalo
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection; D003756:Dental Hygienists / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000600:supply & distribution; D006113:United Kingdom; D016526:Workload / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*