[Study on delegation. Dental activities by students in dental practices].

Some dental students in the Netherlands have a job in a dental practice next to their study, as the Individual Health Care Professions Act (introduced in 1997 as Law BIG) allows. The aim of the study was to determine how many dental students of the Academie Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam actually work in a dental practice, which kinds of dental activities they perform and whether these meet the requirements of the Act mentioned before. All dental students (n = 947) received a questionnaire by e-mail. The response was 44% (427 students). Of these students, 71% had a job next to their study; 25% worked in a dental practice. Study progress and age were positively correlated with working in a dental practice. Their activities mainly involved chair assistance, giving brushing instructions and fluoride applications, and dental cleaning. These students asseemed that they were better informed about the Individual Health Care Professions Act than other students. The source of this information was not, however, the practice where they worked. It was evident, moreover, that they felt the need for more information concerning the delegation of restricted dental activities.