ATTENDANCE OF DENTAL HYGIENISTS IN EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES RELATED TO THE PREVENTION OF DENTAL DISEASES: A QUALITATIVE INTERVIEW STUDY

Abstract

Dental hygienists are important members of the dental team in promoting and maintaining the oral health of patients. They carry out educational, therapeutic, and preventive activities. The aim of this study is to analyse the attendance of Lithuanian dental hygienists in educational activities related to the prevention of dental diseases.

Dental hygienists were invited to be part of a qualitative research project which involves individual semi structured interviews. Interviews were recorded (audio and video) and later transcribed. Interviews were conducted with seven dental hygienists. A thematic analysis of data from the interview was performed. Five themes were extracted from the contents. Two themes are observed in this article: participation in prevention programmes and changes are needed for dental diseases prevention. Conclusions: Dental hygienists attend children educational institutions and other communities for educational dental prevention purposes. Dental hygienists are involved in educational activities, usually on their own initiative, receiving no reward for this work.