Ethnic and racial minority students in U.S. entry-level dental hygiene programs: a national survey.

Purpose: The United States is rapidly becoming a more multicultural society. Although minority groups are the fastest growing segment of the U.S.

Dental professional's role in diagnosing Sjögren's syndrome.

In this investigation, a written questionnaire was used to assess patient's perceptions of health care professionals' knowledge about Sjögren's syndrome. Results show that dental and other health care professionals need to be better informed about the nature of Sjögren's and its symptoms so they can diagnose patients. Early diagnosis may help mollify symptoms and reduce anxiety or other perceived harmful consequences.

Comparative study: the effects of latex and vinyl gloves on the tactile discrimination of first year dental hygiene students.

The purposes of this study were to determine 1) if there was a significant difference in the tactile discrimination of first year dental hygiene students wearing a vinyl glove as compared to a latex glove; 2) if the subjects' perceptions of their ability to accurately discriminate between surface textures differed when wearing either one of the two gloves; and 3) the individual characteristics of the gloves preferred by the subjects. Twenty-nine first year dental students were randomly assigned to one of the two glove treatment groups. The tactile discrimination ability of each subject was assessed at baseline and three weeks after using the Roughness Discrimination Test (RDT).