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Dental sealant knowledge, opinion, values and practice of Spanish dental hygienists
Author(s) -
San Martin L,
HuertosMarchante A,
GalvanMartos J,
RodriguezLozano FJ
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
international journal of dental hygiene
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.674
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1601-5037
pISSN - 1601-5029
DOI - 10.1111/idh.12167
Subject(s) - medicine , wilcoxon signed rank test , expert opinion , dentistry , sealant , dental practice , test (biology) , clinical practice , family medicine , mann–whitney u test , paleontology , chemistry , organic chemistry , intensive care medicine , biology
Objectives Dental sealants have proved to be an effective approach to prevent pit and fissure caries. This study examines the knowledge, opinion, values and practice (KOVP) of dental hygienists concerning sealant use in the southwest region of Andalusia, Spain. Methods Spanish dental hygienists ( n = 400) volunteered to complete a 31‐item, self‐administered, pretested questionnaire to assess their knowledge, opinion, values and practice regarding pit and fissure sealants. Wilcoxon matched‐pairs signed ranks test, the Friedman nonparametric repeated‐measures anova and Spearman's correlation were used to analyse the data. Results The mean scores for knowledge, opinion, values and practice were 3.57 ± 0.41; 2.17 ± 0.42; 2.58 ± 0.77 and 3.56 ± 0.46, respectively. Knowledge differed by years of experience ( P < 0.01) and place of work ( P < 0.01); opinion differed by years of experience ( P = 0.03) and sector ( P < 0.01). Similarly, practice about sealants differed by years of experience ( P < 0.01). Conversely, values around sealant placement did not statistically differ by sex, years of experience, practice sector or place of work. Statistically, significant correlations were found between knowledge, opinion and value, while it was found no significant correlation between practice and the other variables ( P > 0.05). Conclusions Most dental hygienists have sufficient knowledge about pit and fissure sealants. They also acknowledge the importance of use of dental sealants and have positive opinion/attitude about using sealants. Practice of dental sealants in clinics was found adequate. However, they were not following the specific guidelines and standardized procedures.