Ley E, Aker D, Mounts C
J Dent Educ. 1984 Oct;48(10):556-9.
Decreases in faculty size and declining enrollments in dental hygiene programs are, in part, reflections of the economic difficulties faced by educational institutions with which the programs are affiliated. Administrative decisions about the future of dental hygiene programs are often based on inadequate information about employment trends and about the importance of the dental hygienist in dental practices. Although the relationship between demand for dental care and the availability of personnel to meet that demand is now unclear, studies indicate that demand for dental hygiene services will remain high in the 1980s. The impact of dental hygienists on dental health care delivery in any given region must be studied carefully when decisions are made about dental hygiene programs, because it is very expensive to replace discontinued programs or those disabled by large budget cuts.
教职员工规模的缩减以及口腔卫生专业招生人数的下降，在一定程度上反映了与这些专业相关的教育机构所面临的经济困难。关于口腔卫生专业未来的行政决策，往往基于就业趋势以及口腔卫生员在牙科实践中的重要性等方面的信息不足。尽管目前牙科护理需求与满足该需求的人员供应之间的关系尚不明朗，但研究表明，20世纪80年代对口腔卫生服务的需求仍将居高不下。在做出有关口腔卫生专业的决策时，必须仔细研究口腔卫生员对任何特定地区牙科医疗服务提供的影响，因为恢复已停办的专业或那些因大幅削减预算而陷入困境的专业成本非常高昂。
