Yorkshire Dental Practitioner's knowledge and attitude to dental hygienists

Although some dentists currently employ hygienists others remain hesitant or unaware of potential value of the hygienist as part of the dental team. The study was designed with the objective: of estimating the current level of employment of dental hygienists in the Yorkshire region, to identify the duties delegated to this group and to estimate potential for future expansion in training numbers. The experimental method: utilised a random sample of 500 from a total 1,619 Yorkshire GDPs. A questionaire provided data for dentist demographic and experience and attitude to dental hygienists. Results: data from a 66% respondent rate were analysed using SPSS and Microsoft Access. Improved healthcare provision and practice profile (67%)were the most frequent reported reasons for employing a hygienist and problems with recruitment (63%)the most significant barrier to employment. Up to 34% of respondents were willing to delegate to dental hygienists care which does not currently fall within the competancy range of UK dental hygienist. The length of time since qualification,acquisition of specialist registration or post graduate qualification had no influence on the dentists attitude or knowledge of Professionals Complementary to Dentistry (PCDs).The main role of the dental hygienist was oral health education and scaling and polishing of teeth. Conclusions: that expansion of dental hygiene training in Yorkshire is required to meet the needs of the regions dental practitioners and that dentists need appropriate education in relation to the range of competancy of PCDs.