The dental hygienist in Europe and in Italy: survey on future expectations of the profession

The dental hygienist in Europe and in Italy: survey on future expectations of the profession I. Casula, C. Manenti, L. Bonfanti, A. Ganda, E. Marchesini, T. Anzaldi, M. Bianchi Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences, and Public Health (DSMC) – University of Brescia Aim The purpose of this study is to learn about training, skills and regulation of the dental hygienist profession in the European Union/ European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries and at the same time to highlight the skills that the Italian dental hygienists believe can improve their professional practice. Materials This work is split into two parts: the first one consists of a review of literature and legislation regarding the current status of dental hygienist in the EU/EEA countries; information was also found on the main dental hygienist institutions websites (IFDH, EDHF, CECDO) and on the official websites of training schools in Europe. The second part consists of a questionnaire, which was provided to graduated Italian dental hygienists to evaluate their professional status. The questionnaire is divided into three parts: biographical data, current skills, desirable skills. Results The dental hygienist profession is regulated in two thirds of EU/EEA countries. In Austria, Belgium and Germany is not yet recognized, but the situation seems to be evolving. Northern Europe has the highest level of dental hygiene education. The harmonization of dental hygiene profession has not been achieved yet. At the same time, the range of professional responsibilities today is not the same for each country. Instead, the survey included a total of 601 participants, 77% females and 23% males. 52% of the sample is between 20 and 30 years old and 31% comes from Lombardy. According to the questionnaire results, 71% of dental hygienists are satisfied with their current skills, but the main competencies that they consider to improve are the ability to take X-rays (62%), to make diagnosis (56%) and to administer topical anesthetic under the dentist supervision (41%) or autonomously (39%). These skills would be able to put him in better professional conditions, improving his cultural and professional autonomy. The need is to expand the range of professional skills. Conclusion The dental hygienist has made a lot of progress since birth, but today is not recognized and educated in the same way in all countries. The goal is to reach a more common identity at European level. Even if the Italian dental hygienist performs less skills than the European one, his training is often better. So the profession needs to expand beyond traditional roles. The invitation is to prosper and grow to face future challenges with competence and professionalism.