Introduction
Dental hygiene is a set of measures aimed at removing dental deposits to prevent dental diseases. Dental hygiene is an integral part of human health, as many bacteria accumulate in the mouth, which subsequently enters the body (Qutieshat et al. 138). Self-assessment is an essential part of hygiene since it is through it that professional hygienists can explain to patients the importance of hygiene in the prevention of diseases. The ability to correctly self-assess is also part of teaching patients proper oral hygiene. In modern times, an urgent problem is associated with the lack of adequate care for patients who are not sufficiently aware of the need for dental hygiene, as well as those who are not capable of proper self-assessment.
Who is Affected by the Problem
Self-assessment is necessary both for a dental hygienist and for patients. This is important for the hygienist to maintain their health and oral hygiene in good condition. It is also required so that the hygienist can explain to patients the importance of maintaining the cleanliness of the oral cavity in the most accessible and competent manner (Schlenz et al. 5). This problem affects all dental hygienists and students who are studying to become a hygienist. ADEA highlights self-assessment as an essential competence of a future doctor and requires constant growth and development in this area (Tonni et al. 100). The ability to self-assessment also includes several important skills, such as the ability to set goals, the skill of critical thinking, as well as the ability to solve problems.
Throughout higher education, students are encouraged to develop their self-assessment and critical thinking skills at a deep level that will not only allow them to grow professionally but also help outside of the educational institution. Moreover, students are offered the introduction of a portfolio that will help in self-assessment and reflection on how their professional development is progressing (Rajan et al. 238). By documenting the entire learning process with a portfolio, future hygienists will be able to see their progress and professional growth and how it changes over time.
In addition to practicing skills related to self-esteem, the main goal of dental hygienists is to instill in patients an understanding of the importance of disease prevention through competent oral care. To convey information to patients in the most understandable way, dental hygienists should monitor the condition of their teeth themselves (Partido et al. 978). This will give hygienists an understanding of how to properly maintain oral hygiene and thereby prevent the appearance of various diseases. In this case, a self-assessment skill will also be needed to understand how much the hygienists themselves know what they will teach patients. In addition, the skill of setting goals that the dental hygienist will subsequently set for the patient will be necessary.
Why Does the Problem Exist
The problem of inadequate care for patients who are poorly aware of the importance of maintaining oral hygiene exists for various reasons. Some dentists neglect to educate patients about the importance of oral hygiene (Schlenz et al. 3). Moreover, the patients themselves may not pay much attention to how critical dental care is to maintain the health of the whole body as a whole. Even after studying with a dental hygienist, they may need to pay more attention to the training recommendations because they will not consider oral hygiene essential (Qutieshat et al. 141). Low awareness may also be because dentists themselves do not take good care of their teeth, that is, they cannot conduct self-assessment and do not have the skills associated with it. They lack critical thinking skills, goal setting, and the ability to reflect.
Why Does the Problem Continue to Exist
The problem will exist because specialists working in the field of hygienic dentistry will not strive for self-assessment and, therefore, for development. Probably, the problem can disappear if modern students devote a significant amount of time to self-assessment and related skills. The education system that is taught today includes all the necessary competencies that a dental hygienist should have (Rajan et al. 240). However, after receiving higher education, graduate hygienists should strive for regular self-assessment and improvement of the acquired skills.
What is at Stake if the Problem Does not Get Solved
The problem of inadequate patient care in the field of oral hygiene is relevant to this day. Naturally, if the problem is solved, the number of diseases, the development of which contributes to the lack of oral hygiene, will be significantly reduced. If the problem is not solved and people do not receive enough information about the importance of self-assessment in matters of dental hygiene, the consequences will be negative. Patients will be more likely to get sick and suffer from toothache, although good oral hygiene is the key to health and well-being. It is imperative that potential dental hygienists learn self-assessment and critical thinking and set correct goals to then convey this information effectively and competently to patients (Tonni et al. 99). It will also help solve the existing problem of poor care for patients who do not have a narrowly focused knowledge of proper oral hygiene.
The solution to this problem can be taken up by the Ministry of Health, which will influence the change in the training program of students applying for the dental hygienist position. Portfolio management should become one of the main tasks for each student to learn self-assessment and then be able to clearly explain to patients what self-assessment means, how to pass it, and what the results may be. Furthermore, it is necessary to arrange periodic monitoring of the work of dental hygienists for correct work with patients and check how this hygienist trains patients in oral hygiene. These solutions can help because control is one of the main elements of obtaining and consolidating knowledge. The positive aspects of this solution are that even while preparing for the test, both potential and actual hygienists will be able to work out skills and improve their professionalism in self-assessment and related competencies. The negative aspects of the solution may be that students and hygienists will demonstrate their knowledge only for verification and will not use it when working with patients.
Conclusion
In conclusion, today, the problem of insufficient care for patients who are not aware of the details of hygienic oral care and do not have the ability to self-assess is one of the most pressing issues of preventive dentistry. This topic is intended to affect both dental hygienists, whose primary goal is to educate patients and help in determining self-esteem, and patients who do not have sufficient knowledge for full-fledged oral care. This problem may exist for various reasons, but one of the main ones is that dental hygienists do not have self-esteem and such accompanying skills as critical thinking, goal-setting skills, and the ability to solve existing issues.
Works Cited
Partido, Brian, and Stafford, Rachel. “Association Between Emotional Intelligence and Academic Performance Among Dental Hygiene Students.” Journal of Dental Education, vol. 82, no. 9, 2018, pp. 974-979. Web.
Qutieshat, Abubaker, Abusamak, Mohammad, and Maragha, Tala. “Impact of Blended Learning on Dental Students’ Performance and Satisfaction in Clinical Education.” Journal of Dental Education, vol. 84, no. 2, 2020, pp. 135-142. Web.
Rajan, Sadna, Chen, Hong Yang, Chen, Jess Jin Xuan, Chin-You, Samantha, Chee, Sandra, Chrun, Rina, Byun, Jasper, and Abuzar, Menaka. “Final Year Dental Students’ Self-Assessed Confidence in General Dentistry.” European Journal of Dental Education, vol. 24, no. 2, 2019, pp. 233-243. Web.
Schlenz, Maximiliane, Michel, Karin, Wegner, Kerstin, Schmidt, Alexander, Rehmann, Peter, and Wöstmann, Bernd. “Undergraduate dental students’ perspective on the implementation of digital dentistry in the preclinical curriculum: a questionnaire survey.” BMC Oral Health, vol. 20, no. 178, 2020, 1-10. Web.
Tonni, Ingrid, Gadbury-Amyot, Cynthia, Govaerts, Marjan, Cate, Olle ten, Davis, Joan, Garcia, Lily, and Valachovic, Richard. “ADEA-ADEE Shaping the Future of Dental Education III.” Journal of Dental Education, vol. 84, no. 1, 2020, pp. 97-104. Web.