Profession of Dental Hygiene – Lecture Review

A set of 59 vocabulary flashcards covering history, roles, ethics, supervision, prevention, and the process of care in dental hygiene.

Professional dental hygienist

A primary-care oral health professional who provides educational, preventive, therapeutic, diagnostic, administrative, and research services.

American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA)

The U.S. professional organization that defines, represents, and advocates for dental hygienists.

Scope of practice

The specific services a dental hygienist is legally allowed to perform in a given state, province, or country.

Dr. Alfred Fones

Known as the Father of Dental Hygiene; founded the profession and trained the first hygienist.

Irene Newman

First licensed dental hygienist and first president of a dental hygiene society.

First dental hygiene school – 1913

The year Dr. Fones opened the inaugural school dedicated to training dental hygienists.

ADHA incorporation – 1927

The year the ADHA became an official organization and began publishing its journal.

“Clinical Practice of the Dental Hygienist” – 1959

Seminal textbook that provided standardized clinical guidance for hygienists.

National and regional board examinations

Licensure tests established in the 1960s to assess dental hygiene competency.

Unsupervised dental hygiene practice

1980s milestone allowing hygienists in some states to work without on-site dentist supervision.

OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard

1990s regulation that made gloves, masks, and other protective measures mandatory in dental practice.

Education role

Teaching patients and the public about oral health and disease prevention.

Assessment role

Collecting medical, dental, and social data to evaluate a patient’s oral health status.

Diagnosis role

Using critical thinking to identify existing or potential oral health problems.

Prevention role

Delivering services such as sealants, fluoride, and oral hygiene instruction to stop disease before it starts.

Non-surgical periodontal therapy

Therapeutic procedures like scaling and root planing used to treat periodontal disease without surgery.

Research role

Designing and conducting studies to advance evidence-based dental hygiene practice.

Administration role

Planning, directing, and evaluating oral-health programs or clinic operations.

Entrepreneur role

Creating, owning, or managing oral-health-related businesses or services.

Direct supervision

The dentist must be present while the hygienist performs procedures.

Personal supervision

The dentist authorizes, is present, and checks work before the patient is dismissed.

General supervision

The dentist authorizes procedures but need not be physically present.

Direct access supervision

The hygienist initiates treatment without prior dentist authorization in specific settings.

Collaborative practice

Hygienist practices independently under a written agreement with a dentist or other provider.

Independent practice

Hygienist provides care without any dentist supervision or collaborative agreement.

Primary prevention

Measures that prevent disease onset, such as sealants, fluoride, and education.

Secondary prevention

Early detection and treatment to halt disease progression, e.g., calculus removal.

Tertiary prevention

Restorative care after disease has occurred, such as crowns, dentures, or implants.

Overall professional goals

Promote health, prevent disease, and deliver patient-centered, evidence-based care.

Personal professional goals

Commitments to high ethics, lifelong learning, and active participation in professional organizations.

Clinical goals

Maintaining current infection-control knowledge and tailoring evidence-based care to individual needs.

Lifelong learning

Continuous acquisition of knowledge and skills throughout a professional career.

Motivational interviewing

Patient-centered communication technique used to encourage health behavior change.

Advanced Dental Therapist (ADT)

Master’s-trained provider who delivers basic restorative and preventive services to underserved populations.

Access-to-care problem

The inability of many populations to obtain needed oral-health services.

Autonomy

Ethical principle requiring respect for patients’ self-determination and informed consent.

Confidentiality

Ethical duty to protect patient information from unauthorized disclosure.

Societal trust

Maintaining public confidence in the dental hygiene profession.

Non-maleficence

Ethical obligation to do no harm.

Beneficence

Ethical duty to promote the well-being of patients and the public.

Justice and fairness

Providing equal access to quality oral-health care for all individuals.

Veracity

Ethical responsibility to tell the truth and act honestly.

Interprofessional collaborative care

Healthcare approach in which multiple professions work together for optimal patient outcomes.

Values/Ethics competency domain

Working with mutual respect and shared professional values in interprofessional teams.

Roles/Responsibilities competency domain

Understanding one’s own role and the roles of other health professions.

Interprofessional communication competency domain

Effective, timely, and respectful information exchange among team members and patients.

Teams and teamwork competency domain

Applying principles of team dynamics to deliver safe, efficient, and equitable care.

Ethical issue

A situation with a clear, well-defined solution based on existing laws or standards.

Ethical dilemma

A situation involving two or more morally correct choices that require careful decision-making.

Ethical decision-making model

Systematic steps—gather information, clarify, assess options, recommend, document—used to resolve ethical problems.

Advocacy for oral health

Efforts to influence policy, reduce barriers, and promote programs that improve public oral health.

Dental hygiene process of care

Six-step framework: assess, diagnose, plan, implement, evaluate, and document.

Assessment phase

Collecting subjective and objective patient data as the first step of care.

Dental hygiene diagnosis phase

Interpreting assessment data to identify actual or potential oral-health problems.

Care planning phase

Developing patient-centered strategies and interventions to address diagnosed needs.

Implementation phase

Carrying out the planned dental hygiene interventions.

Evaluation phase

Determining the effectiveness of provided treatments and modifying care as needed.

Documentation phase

Recording all findings, treatments, patient responses, and outcomes in the patient record.

Sealants

Protective resin coatings applied to pits and fissures to prevent dental caries.

Type of supervision used in Alabama

Direct supervision