Changes in Ageism Among Dental Hygiene Students Following a Didactic Geriatric Dentistry Course: A Pre-Post Study

With Japan's rapidly ageing society, dental hygienists must be prepared to address older adults' complex needs. Despite the recognised importance of geriatric dentistry, the impact of didactic instruction on ageism remains unclear.

This study investigated whether a Geriatric Dentistry course affects peculiar and general ageism among second-year dental hygiene students.

A single-arm pre-post design was conducted in four dental hygiene schools in Fukuoka, Japan. Participants completed two validated questionnaires before and after the course: the 16-item Ageism Scale for Dental Students (ASDS-J) and the Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA-J). Statistical analyses included the Wilcoxon signed-rank sum test and Spearman's rank correlations.

Of 152 eligible students, 119 (78.3%) completed both surveys. Overall, neither ASDS-J [55 (21-66) to 56 (21-75), p = 0.061] nor FSA-J [32 (6-55) to 33 (6-54), p = 0.161] changed significantly. Based on the median score on the ASDS-J at baseline (median = 55), the participants were divided into a low-ageism group and a high-ageism group. Students in the high-ageism group showed a significant reduction in ASDS-J [58 (55-66) to 56 (21-75), p = 0.046], while those in the high-ageism group exhibited an increase in both ASDS-J [51 (21-54) to 56 (41-64), p < 0.001] and FSA-J [29 (6-55) to 33 (16-51), p = 0.006].

Didactic geriatric dental education alone may have a limited overall impact on ageism but can differentially affect students based on their initial attitudes.