口腔健康治疗师、口腔保健员和牙科治疗师的执业范围。

Applied scope of practice of oral health therapists, dental hygienists and dental therapists.

作者信息

Teusner D N, Amarasena N, Satur J, Chrisopoulos S, Brennan D S

机构信息

Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health, School of Dentistry, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

Melbourne Dental School, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

出版信息

Aust Dent J. 2016 Sep;61(3):342-9. doi: 10.1111/adj.12381.

DOI:10.1111/adj.12381

PMID:26465634

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Oral health therapists (OHTs) are an emerging workforce whose training incorporates the skills of dental hygienists (DHs) and dental therapists (DTs). There are concerns that OHTs are underutilized. This study compares the employment characteristics and applied practice scope of OHTs with those of DTs and DHs.

METHODS

Members of two professional associations representing DHs, DTs and OHTs, were surveyed by mail. Data collected included demographic and employment characteristics and clinical activity on a typical practice day. Applied practice scope was described by calculating the proportion of practitioners that had provided ≥1 of a selected range of key services. Log binomial regression was used to compare OHTs to DTs and DHs.

RESULTS

The response rate was 60.6% (n = 1083) and of these 90.9% were employed. Preventive services dominated service provision. The proportion of OHTs that provided fluoride applications (77%) was higher than the proportion of DTs (53%, p < 0.05), and was not significantly different from the proportion of DHs (70%). The proportion of OHTs that provided (48%) fissure sealants was lower than the proportion of DTs (70%) and substantially higher than the proportion of DHs (10%, p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the applied practice scope of OHTs appeared to differ from DTs and DHs.

摘要

背景

口腔健康治疗师（OHTs）是一支新兴的劳动力队伍，其培训融合了牙科保健员（DHs）和牙科治疗师（DTs）的技能。有人担心口腔健康治疗师未得到充分利用。本研究比较了口腔健康治疗师与牙科治疗师和牙科保健员的就业特征及应用实践范围。

方法

通过邮件对代表牙科保健员、牙科治疗师和口腔健康治疗师的两个专业协会的成员进行了调查。收集的数据包括人口统计学和就业特征以及典型工作日的临床活动。应用实践范围通过计算提供了选定关键服务范围内至少一项服务的从业者比例来描述。使用对数二项回归将口腔健康治疗师与牙科治疗师和牙科保健员进行比较。

结果

回复率为60.6%（n = 1083），其中90.9%受雇。预防性服务在服务提供中占主导地位。提供氟化物应用的口腔健康治疗师比例（77%）高于牙科治疗师比例（53%，p < 0.0），与牙科保健员比例（70%）无显著差异。提供窝沟封闭剂的口腔健康治疗师比例（48%）低于牙科治疗师比例（70%），但大幅高于牙科保健员比例（%，p > 0.0）。