Restorative dental services and Manitoba dental hygienists

The purpose of this paper was to discover the attitudes and level of restorative dental services provided by dental hygienists in Manitoba. Part one included six confidential interviews; three with dentists who had dental hygienists providing restorative dental services in their offices on some basis, and three with dentists who had dental hygienists practising in their traditional periodontal roles only. The second part was a survey designed to determine how many dental hygienists provide restorative dental services and what are their attitudes towards these services. Also investigated was the attitude of those dental hygienists who do not provide these services. Surveys were mailed to two hundred randomly selected, licensed, Manitoba dental hygienists, including a survey for their employing dentists. Confidential interviews were structured from the formatted survey which had yet to be distributed to the participants. The dental hygiene surveys were statistically analyzed for demographics and types of restorative dental services provided. Open-ended questions in the survey were categorized and tabulated. There was a fifty percent completed survey response rate from dental hygienists. Fifty-two dentists completed the survey. Thirty-nine percent of the surveyed dental hygienists never provide restorative dental services, while ten percent provide restorative dental services on a daily basis. From the dentists surveyed fifty-six percent of respondents had at some point worked in a practice where a dental hygienist provided restorative dental services. In conclusion, the authors determined that there is greater utilization of restorative services provided by dental hygienists than perceived. Also, most dental hygienists felt that their knowledge of dental materials and restorative skills enhanced their overall client care.