Brown L Jackson, Wagner Karen Schaid, Mikkelsen Matthew C, Munson Bradley
Health Policy Resource Center, American Dental Association, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
J Am Dent Assoc. 2005 Jun;136(6):797-804. doi: 10.14219/jada.archive.2005.0266.
The American Dental Association conducts surveys of educational programs in dental assisting, dental hygiene and dental laboratory technology. The 2002-2003 survey included questions about enrollment, graduates, program information and trends.
The ADA Survey Center mailed the Survey of Allied Dental Education to 548 program directors of dental assisting, dental hygiene and dental laboratory technology educational programs. They also sent several follow-up notices as a reminder to complete the survey. A 100 percent response rate is mandatory for continued accreditation by the Commission on Dental Accreditation. Association staff members resolved inconsistencies in the data and analyzed them before producing a final report.
The number of applications to, first-year enrollment in and number of graduates in dental hygiene and dental assisting educational programs have increased during the last five years. During the same period, the number of applications to, and graduates of, dental laboratory technology educational programs decreased, but first-year enrollment increased slightly.
Results from these surveys help address the concerns of the public and the profession regarding allied dental manpower levels. They also provide information for those interested in applying to individual allied dental educational programs.
Private dental practices employ the majority of graduates of allied dental educational programs. Recent graduates of dental assisting and hygiene programs continue to supply the office staff members needed to support the delivery of dental care.
美国牙科协会对牙科辅助、口腔卫生和牙科实验室技术方面的教育项目进行调查。2002 - 2003年的调查涵盖了有关招生、毕业生、项目信息及趋势等问题。
美国牙科协会调查中心向548名牙科辅助、口腔卫生和牙科实验室技术教育项目的主任邮寄了联合牙科教育调查问卷。他们还发送了几份跟进通知以提醒完成调查。牙科认证委员会要求必须达到100%的回复率才能继续认证。协会工作人员在生成最终报告前解决了数据中的不一致问题并进行了分析。
在过去五年中，口腔卫生和牙科辅助教育项目的申请人数、一年级入学人数及毕业生人数均有所增加。同期，牙科实验室技术教育项目的申请人数和毕业生人数减少，但一年级入学人数略有增加。
这些调查结果有助于解决公众和行业对联合牙科人力水平的担忧。它们还为有意申请各个联合牙科教育项目的人提供信息。
大多数联合牙科教育项目的毕业生受雇于私人牙科诊所。牙科辅助和口腔卫生项目的应届毕业生继续为提供牙科护理所需的办公室工作人员队伍补充力量。
