Health topics emerged from brief-motivational interviewing: A randomized clinical trial.

Objective: The goal of this study was to analyse transcription of audio recordings to determine health topics that emerged from brief-motivational interviewing (MI) compared to traditional oral hygiene instructions (OHI).

Methods: Fifty-eight periodontal maintenance patients were randomized to a brief-MI or traditional OHI group for a longitudinal 1-year clinical trial. Both groups received four patient education sessions per their assigned group.

Effect of scaling and root planing with and without minocycline HCl microspheres on periodontal pathogens and clinical outcomes: A randomized clinical trial.

Background: This study tests the effects of scaling and root planing (SRP) versus SRP plus minocycline hydrochloride microspheres (SRP+MM) on 11 periodontal pathogens and clinical outcomes in Stage II-IV Grade B periodontitis participants.

Methods: Seventy participants were randomized to receive SRP (n = 35) or SRP+MM (n = 35). Saliva and clinical outcomes were collected for both groups at baseline before SRP, 1-month reevaluation, and at 3- and 6-month periodontal recall.

Impact of Brief Motivational Interviewing on Periodontal Clinical Outcomes: A randomized clinical trial.

Patient education and oral hygiene instruction (OHI) communication play a key role in the dental hygiene process of care. The purpose of this study was to determine whether brief motivational interviewing (BMI) was superior to traditional OHI in improving periodontal health. Chairside time needed to deliver traditional OHI as compared to BMI was also compared.

Functional Oral Health Literacy and Periodontal Health.

Growing evidence associates low oral health literacy (OHL) with poor oral health outcomes. While nearly half of United States adults have periodontal disease (PD), there are conflicting results on association between OHL and PD. The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the association between functional OHL and periodontal health as defined by the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) classification system.

Dental hygienists' use of motivational interviewing and perceptions of effectiveness in changing patient behaviors.

Background: The University of Minnesota (UMN) Dental Hygiene (DH) program devotes considerable time developing students' competency using motivational interviewing (MI). However, the extent to which graduates use MI in clinical practice and their perceptions of MI effectiveness in changing behavior is unknown.

Methods: A cross-section of UMN dental hygiene classes from 2010-2019 were emailed an electronic survey using Qualtrics software (n = 208).

A comparison of dental therapy and dental students' clinical performance.

The aim of the study was to determine if there is a difference between dental therapy students' clinical performance as compared to dental students at the University of Minnesota. An ex post facto research design was used to compare dental therapy students' and dental students' performance on selected clinical procedures. Dental students and dental therapy students from the graduating classes of 2016, 2017, and 2019 at the University of Minnesota comprised the study sample.

Caries Management by Risk Assessment vs. Traditional Preventive Strategies: Effect on Oral Health Behaviors and Caries Diagnoses: A Retrospective Case-Control Observational Design.

Results showed patients who had undergone Caries Management by Risk Assessment (CAMBRA) had statistically significant lower plaque scores and improved their oral self-care behaviors. This study supports existing evidence that the use of caries management by risk assessment appears to offer a preventive approach to oral health care delivery.

Human Papillomavirus Content Inclusion in Dental Hygiene Program Curricula in the United States.

Human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal cancers (OPC) have significantly increased over the past three decades despite vaccine availability to prevent carcinogenic HPV types. Dental hygienists are well-positioned to provide HPV counsel to patients; however, most do not feel prepared to do so. The purpose of this study was to examine HPV content inclusion in dental hygiene program curricula in the United States (US).

Efficacy of a Prototype Solution to Facilitate the Removal of Supragingival Dental Calculus: A proof of concept study.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the adjunctive use of an experimental calculus disruption solution (EXP-955), combined with the exclusive use of hand instruments, decreases the amount of time required to remove supragingival dental calculus deposits. A single-site, randomized, split-mouth clinical trial was conducted to compare the time needed to remove supragingival dental calculus on deposits pretreated with an experimental calculus disruption solution vs. calculus deposits that were not pretreated.

Using motivational interviewing to reduce parental risk related behaviors for early childhood caries: a pilot study.

Background: Decades of epidemiological studies have documented high rates of early childhood caries (ECC) among American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) children. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate if a motivational interviewing (MI) intervention improved oral self-care behaviors of AIAN caregivers of infants, and determine if the MI intervention promoted positive changes in caregivers' ECC risk-related behaviors.

Methods: Caregivers of infants presenting for well- child visits in a medical clinic were randomized to treatment and control groups.

Reflective Learning Outcomes of Community-Based Experiences: A Qualitative Study.

The aim of this study was to explore the meaning of community-based experiences for senior dental and dental hygiene students through the use of critical incident essays. A total of 108 senior dental students and 22 senior dental hygiene students were invited to participate in the study. Each student was required to write about one critical incident that occurred at one of four community clinic rotation sites during the 2012-13 school year.

Using Situated Learning Theory to Build an Interactive Learning Environment to Foster Dental Students' Professionalism: An Ignite Project.

Recognition that professionalism is at the heart of dentistry's contract with society has led to an emphasis on educational strategies designed to improve cultivation of professional behaviors. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a project based on situated learning theory and using an Ignite format to support dental students' learning and promote professionalism. Learning activities were evaluated in terms of new thinking, changing perspectives, and professional relationships.

Introducing and Evaluating Intraprofessional Team-Based Care Delivery in a Dental School Clinic: A Pilot Study.

There is growing interest in developing more efficient, patient-centered, and cost-effective models of dental care delivery using teams of professionals. The aims of this small pilot study were to assess the number of patient visits, type and number of procedures performed, and clinic revenues generated by an intraprofessional team of dental, dental hygiene, and dental therapy students and to determine the students' and patients' perceptions of this model of care. Sixteen senior students from three student cohorts (dental, dental hygiene, and dental therapy) at the University of Minnesota piloted a team-based dental delivery model from January to April 2015.

Dental School Faculty Attitudes Toward Dental Therapy: A Four-Year Follow-Up.

This study is a follow-up to a 2010 study at one U.S. dental school that found faculty attitudes toward the dental therapy model were mixed and there was a clear divide in attitudes between faculty members who were full-time educators and part-timers who also practiced outside the educational institution.

Did Intraprofessional Training with Dental Therapists Affect Dental Students' Attitudes Toward Caring for the Underserved?

Dental therapy was recently introduced as a new oral health care workforce model to increase care for vulnerable populations in Minnesota. Nine dental therapy and 98 dental students began intraprofessional training at the University of Minnesota in 2009. The aim of this longitudinal study was to determine whether intraprofessional education with the dental therapy students would affect the dental students' attitudes toward caring for underserved populations.

Dental therapy practice patterns in Minnesota: a baseline study.

Objectives: A chronic shortage of dentists, the importance of oral health, and the lack of access to care led to the introduction of a new oral health practitioner in Minnesota, the dental therapist. Dental therapy graduates from the University of Minnesota have been in practice since 2012. To date, there has been no formal study of how they have been incorporated into dental practice.

Examining the influence of professional identity formation on the attitudes of students towards interprofessional collaboration.

An expectation of introductory interprofessional education (IPE) is improvement in attitudes towards other professions. However, the theory surrounding professional identity formation suggests this expectation may be premature. The objective of this study was to quantify first-year health professional students' attitudes towards their own and other professions and to investigate the relationship between strength of professional identity and attitudes towards other professions and interprofessional learning.

Minnesota dentists׳ attitudes toward the dental therapist workforce model.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate dentists' attitudes and perceptions toward dental therapists, a new licensed dental provider in Minnesota. This study employed mixed modes to administer a survey using a stratified random sample of 1000 dentists in Minnesota. The response rate was 55% (AAPOR RR1: n=551/999).

Endoscopic vs. tactile evaluation of subgingival calculus.

Purpose: Endoscopic technology has been developed to facilitate imagery for use during diagnostic and therapeutic phases of periodontal care. The purpose of this study was to compare the level of subgingival calculus detection using a periodontal endoscope with that of conventional tactile explorer in periodontitis subjects.

Methods: A convenience sample of 26 subjects with moderate periodontitis in at least 2 quadrants was recruited from the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry to undergo quadrant scaling and root planing.

A pilot study comparing the outcome of scaling/root planing with and without Perioscope™ technology.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of a periodontal endoscope improves periodontal outcomes of scaling/root planing when compared to scaling/root planing alone.

Methods: Thirty subjects with moderate periodontitis were recruited from the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. Of these, 26 completed the study.

Cultivating professional responsibility in a dental hygiene curriculum.

To prepare dental hygienists for future roles in the health care system, dental hygiene education must prepare graduates with skills, ethics, and values that align with professional responsibility. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of curricular changes designed to develop professional identity and responsibility over the entire span of the dental hygiene curriculum. Twenty-four dental hygiene students at the University of Minnesota were surveyed about their attitudes toward access to dental care, society's and health professionals' responsibility to care for the underserved, and their personal efficacy to provide care for the underserved.

Utilization of nondentist providers and attitudes toward new provider models: findings from the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to quantify, within the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network, current utilization of dental hygienists and assistants with expanded functions and quantify network dentists' attitudes toward a new nondentist provider model - the dental therapist.

Methods: National Dental Practice-Based Research Network practitioner-investigators participated in a single, cross-sectional administration of a questionnaire.

Results: Current nondentist providers are not being utilized by network practitioner-investigators to the fullest extent allowed by law.

Dental school faculty perceptions of and attitudes toward the new dental therapy model.

The University of Minnesota School of Dentistry launched its new dental therapy program in September 2009 after the Minnesota state legislature had authorized the training and practice of a dental therapist in May of the same year. The creation of this mid-level dental provider is seen as a workforce solution to help address the problem of access to dental care experienced by some members of our society. However, there is a lack of consensus and even controversy in organized dentistry about dental therapy, one of the mid-level provider models.

Socialization of new dental therapists on entering the profession.

Dental therapy is relatively new in the United States. This qualitative study examines the experiences and impressions of the inaugural class of the first dental school-based dental therapy program in the United States. A grounded theory design using open-ended interviews and focus groups was carried out with the nine students in the class at the beginning of their program and after the fall and spring semesters of their first year.

Towards building the oral health care workforce: who are the new dental therapists?

In 2009, Minnesota Governor Pawlenty signed into law a bill approving the creation of a new dental team member: the dental therapist. The intent of this legislation was to address oral health disparities by creating a dental professional who would expand access to dental care in Minnesota. This study aimed to describe the characteristics of the first class of dental therapy students at the University of Minnesota and to ascertain the values and motivations that led them to choose a career in dental therapy.