DHY 170 - Principles of Dental Hygiene

1. Discuss the basic principles and concepts of the practice and profession of Dental Hygiene  
   1. Define the professional roles and responsibilities of the dental hygienist and dental hygiene services for patient care 
   2. Identify the relationship between educational and clinical dental hygiene services 
   3. Identify the special practice areas of dentistry and settings for the dental hygienist 
   4. Recall the name of the founder of dental hygiene and the year of the first course study 
   5. Explain the original concept of dental hygiene services and how this concept expanded 
   6. Discuss dental hygiene paradigms and conceptual models  
2. Incorporate Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory  
   1. Describe the human needs related to dental hygiene care and their implications for dental hygienists 
   2. Plan dental hygiene interventions to help meet deficiencies in identified human needs 
   3. Discuss the relationship of the human need theory to the dental hygiene process of care 
3. Analyze implications of client health status for dental hygiene care
   1. Consider the importance of obtaining accurate and complete medical/dental histories  
   2. Collect, analyze, investigate, and record information from a client’s personal, medical histories, including pertinent physical, psychological and socioeconomic information 
   3. Assess health status and determine risks, disease control level and likelihood of a medical emergency 
   4. Manage client and practitioner risks 
   5. Determine the need for medical consultation
   6. Outline methods used to obtain a patient history 
   7. Recount characteristics of an adequate patient history form 
   8. Describe the interview with regard to participants, setting, communication, attitude, and use of a structured form 
   9. Identify advantages and disadvantages for both the questionnaire and interview methods of patient history preparation 
   10. State when and for what purpose the patient history should be reviewed 
   11. Recall the standard and special regimens for prophylactic antibiotic therapy 
4. Characterize the objectives of effective health communication 
   1. Identify the types of communication relevant to the dental encounter 
   2. Recall the skills and attributes necessary for effective communication, including the concepts of health literacy 
   3. Recall the application of attending physically in establishing patient relations 
   4. Demonstrate the ability to use the components of reflective listening effectively 
   5. Discuss techniques used to influence behavior and perception 
   6. Demonstrate the ability to formulate a variety of questions that maximize freedom of response 
   7. Utilize interpersonal communication skills to function successfully in a multicultural work environment with diverse populations 
   8. Adhere to Federal and State Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy policies and procedures 
5. Distinguish ergonomic principles and practice that support career longevity
   1. Explain musculoskeletal disorders   
   2. Outline the considerations for the preferred working positions 
   3. Apply the principles of good body mechanics for the seated or standing clinician 
   4. Outline the characteristics and sequence of procedures for effective operator, patient, and equipment adjustments 
6. Evaluate infectious disease process and prevention of disease transmission 
   1. Apply the concept of standard precautions to the process of Dental Hygiene care 
   2. Identify infectious diseases of oral transmission, especially those that may pose a risk to patients and dental healthcare personnel 
   3. Explain the rationale and techniques for exposure control 
   4. Recall transmission of airborne infection with regard to dust-borne organisms, aerosols and splatter 
   5. Review key questions, limitations, and use of the medical history as related to prevention of disease transmission 
   6. Illustrate an immunization program for the hygienist in private practice 
   7. Discuss design and care of the necessary personal protective equipment for the clinician 
   8. Explain the rationale, mechanics and guidelines for hand hygiene 
   9. Discuss proper care of dental unit water lines
   10. Outline the steps in preparing instruments for sterilization, including handling, manual cleaning, ultrasonic cleaning, care of the unit, and packaging 
   11. Characterize methods of disinfection and sterilization, their principles of action, preparation of materials, operation, advantages and disadvantages 
   12. Recount patient preparation with regard to reduction of bacteria in and from the oral cavity. 
7. Recount the regulations established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and guidelines from the Center for Disease Control as applied to infection control in dentistry  
8. Relate how assessment of vital signs is key to identifying a patient’s health status
   1. Summarize the normal values for basic vital signs across various age groups 
   2. Illustrate the significance of recording normal and/or abnormal vital signs 
   3. Identify factors that may affect vital signs 
   4. Describe the equipment used in determining vital signs  
9. Examine the concepts involved in mechanical dental debridement with manual instrumentation in providing optimal patient care 
   1. Classify instruments by purpose and use 
   2. Identify information provided on the instrument handle 
   3. Name all parts of a dental instrument 
   4. Define instrument balance 
   5. Relate the functions of a proper instrument grasp 
   6. List the characteristics of the preferred finger rest and appropriate variations. 
   7. Identify characteristics of a well-adapted instrument 
   8. Relate the basic stroke principles, including activation, adaptation, angulation, lateral pressure, and length 
   9. State effects and components of adequate vision and accessibility 
   10. Describe the necessity of “scaling to completion”  
10. Correlate the rationale for a comprehensive extraoral and intraoral examination on every patient 
    1. Describe the advantages of a systematic sequence of examination in detecting abnormal conditions affecting the head and neck  
    2. Identify the following general methods of examinations: visual, palpation, instrumentation, percussion, olfaction, and auscultation 
    3. Document physical characteristics and morphologic categories of notable findings 
    4. Distinguish between subjective and objective signs and symptoms 
    5. Review the responsibility of professional personnel in recognizing and reporting child abuse and dependent adult abuse 
    6. Relate factors in recognition of drug abusers’ general signs and oral characteristics, including appointment management 
11. Specify methods, instruments, and procedures for supra- and subgingival examination and evaluation  
    1. Describe the various styles of examination instruments and their uses 
    2. Describe the compressed air syringe and the purposes and precautions for use 
    3. Describe procedures for supragingival examination 
    4. Relate the steps in proper technique for subgingival evaluation with the explorer 
12. Characterize normal healthy gingiva and changes which occur in disease 
    1. Review anatomy of the gingiva, periodontium, and related structures 
    2. Distinguish between gingival and periodontal disease 
    3. Recall descriptive terminology with regard to severity and distribution of disease 
    4. Discuss importance of early recognition of tissue change 
    5. Compare clinical signs of health in gingiva and changes that occur in disease with regard to color, size, position, contour or shape, gingival margin or papillae, consistency, surface texture, bleeding and exudate 
    6. Identify normal gingival characteristics for various age groups 
    7. Characterize normal healthy gingiva following periodontal treatment 
13. Prioritize dental instrumentation procedures for assessment and deposit removal 
    1. Characterize the basic qualities of all instruments which influence their usefulness  
    2. Recall advantages of using a systematic procedure of examination and instrumentation  
    3. Discuss variations instrument shank length, curvature, flexibility, blade type and blade to shank angulation
    4. Relate the choice of each selected instrument to tooth and soft tissue anatomy.  
    5. Define the stroke principles of blade angulation, adaptation and activation  
    6. Describe protective scaling strategies and reinforcement scaling  
    7. Identify intraoral and extra oral fulcrums for periodontal instrumentation  
    8. Describe the values of periosocopy  
14. Examine the general objectives of periodontal instrumentation   
    1. Discuss the term “oral prophylaxis” as a preventive treatment procedure   
    2. List the steps in manual instrumentation and the advantages of disadvantages of each
    3. Determine several differences between root planning and subgingival scaling  
    4. Identify factors which make subgingival calculus removal more complicated than supragingival calculus removal  
    5. Discuss the importance of irrigating sulci or pockets  
    6. List techniques which may be used to maintain a clear field  
    7. Trace the healing time and process following complete calculus removal  
    8. Compare the effects of instrumentation, partial scaling, and scaling to completion   
    9. Recall methods of enhancing patient comfort related to tissue sensitivity, preventive instrumentation, and post-op care  
    10. Explain the goals and desirable clinical endpoint or outcomes for nonsurgical periodontal therapy  
    11. Define “bacteremia” and explain its occurrence and prevention  
    12. Relate the procedure to follow when an instrument blade tip breaks in the patient’s mouth  
15. Examine disease development and contributing factors in gingival and periodontal tissues  
    1. Define gingivitis and periodontal disease
    2. Define a pocket and its parts
    3. Identify the two types of pockets and the basis of their classifications 
    4. Outline the sequence of steps in the development of a gingival pocket and periodontal disease 
    5. Identify the tooth/surface interface with regard to structures involved, substances found within the pocket, tooth surface changes which may occur as a result of pocket formation, methods and instruments for detection of surface irregularities, causes of surface roughness for enamel, CEJ, cemental surface, cementum
    6. Define furcation involvement and relate clinical significance of observations 
    7. Define mucogingival involvement and recall the significance of attached gingiva and clinical observations 
    8. Describe the self-cleansing mechanism 
    9. Distinguish between contributing, complicating and local and systemic factors in disease development 
    10. State functions of saliva 
    11. Define xerostomia and its causes, effects, and treatment 
16. Outline the derivation, composition, distribution, occurrence, clinical appearance and significance to oral health of soft deposits  
    1. Define the types of soft deposits
    2. Illustrate the development of acquired pellicle with regard to formation and source of materials 
    3. Distinguish between the three types of pellicle and their significance
    4. Describe the formation, composition, and distribution of oral biofilm 
    5. Identify factors influencing biofilm accumulation including those which are responsible for the size and diversity of the oral microflora 
    6. Discuss the dynamic nature of the oral cavity with regard to host variations and metabolic activity of resident microorganisms
    7. Relate aspects of gingival sulcus environment to microbial colonization
    8. Name the beneficial and detrimental effects of normal microflora
    9. Identify criteria for colonization of oral surfaces and limiting mechanisms
    10. Compare supra- and submarginal dental biofilm, including their pathogenic effects
    11. Explain the equation for dental caries initiation including essential and contributing factors 
    12. Relate the effect of diet on dental biofilm with regard to food intake, texture, debris location and impaction
17. Compare the characteristics and techniques of examination for supra- and submarginal calculus  
    1. Define “dental calculus” 
    2. State the purpose for removal of calculus 
    3. Name the two classes of dental calculus 
    4. Differentiate clinical characteristics of supra-and subgingival calculus with regard to location, color, shape, consistency and texture, quality, and distribution of teeth 
    5. List techniques of examination for supragingival and subgingival calculus 
18. Relate the formation, structure, and significance of dental calculus  
    1. Outline the sequence of calculus formation 
    2. Discuss formation time of dental calculus 
    3. Describe the structure and composition of calculus 
    4. Identify three general modes of attachment of calculus 
    5. Discuss the significance of dental calculus with regard to biofilm, pocket depth, scaling, permeability, and drainage from diseased pockets 
    6. Recall effective measures for prevention and control of calculus 
19. Outline the importance of instrument design as it applies to maintaining a sharp cutting edge and the original shape of the instrument  
    1. List two objectives for techniques of instrument sharpening 
    2. Identify sharpening stones regarding materials, categories, sterilization and storage
    3. Define a “cutting edge”
    4. Explain the role of the sharpening stone in the dynamics of sharpening
    5. Determine when instruments should be sharpened 
    6. Recall techniques to be applied before and after sharpening
    7. Outline the steps, pressure, and strokes in sharpening surfaces of sickles and curettes 
    8. Declare when to discard an instrument 
20. Characterize the etiology, composition, distribution, and clinical appearance of extrinsic and intrinsic stains  
    1. State the two discolorations of the teeth which are the concern of the dental hygienist 
    2. Recall the significance of stains 
    3. Define extrinsic, intrinsic, exogenous and endogenous
    4. Relate techniques for the identification and removal of stains occurring directly on the tooth surface, and incorporated within tooth deposits
    5. Interpret clinical appearance, distribution on tooth surfaces, composition, occurrence, and etiology of the following extrinsic stains: yellow, green, black line, tobacco, brown pellicle and other brown stains, orange and red, and metallic stains
    6. Identify intrinsic stains associated with pulpless teeth, tetracycline, restorative metals, endodontic therapy, hereditary amelogenesis and dentinogenesis imperfecta, enamel hypoplasia and dental fluorosis 
    7. Identify examples of exogenous intrinsic stains 
    8. Recall technical hints for stain removal 
    9. Review factors to teach the patient regarding tooth staining