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Published on: February 2, 2020
Alternative practice dental hygiene in California: past, present, and future
Elizabeth Mertz1, Paul Glassman
1Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA.
Abstract:
This study examines the development of the registered dental hygienist in alternative practice in California through an analysis of archival documents, stakeholder interviews, and two surveys of the registered dental hygienist in alternative practice. Designing, testing and implementing a new practice model for dental hygienists took 23 years. Today, registered dental hygienists in alternative practice have developed viable alternative methods for delivering preventive oral health care services in a range of settings with patients who often have no other source of access to care.
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