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Survey of Registered Dental Hygienists in California

Background:
Registered Dental Hygienists (RDHs) play a critical role in efforts to promote access to oral health care and prevent dental diseases. The heightened attention on the nation's oral health needs and growing disparities in oral health, as well as pending revisions in federal procedures for designating dental health professions shortage areas, create a compelling need for better data on the contemporary RDH workforce in California.

Policymakers, workforce planners, and health professions educators all need comprehensive data on the RDH workforce in order to better understand the distribution of these health professionals in the state, the way in which RDHs are deployed in clinical settings, the scope of RDH practice, the extent of involvement of RDHs in public health and population-oriented prevention activities and in meeting the oral health needs of underserved Californians.

Project Scope:
The Center performed a sample survey of licensed registered dental hygienists in California in 2005-2006. The survey investigated the following major topics:

1. The demographic characteristics of RDHs
2. The geographic distribution of RDHs in active practice
3. The practice characteristics of active RDHs
4. The patient populations served by RDHs
5. The scope of practice of RDHs
6. The productivity and work hours of RDHs in clinical practice
7. The extent to which dental hygienists collaborate with other health care providers in the care of their patients (DDS, RNs, MDs, etc)
8. RDHs interest in performing in a more independent role as oral health practitioners
9. The willingness of RDHs to provide care in underserved communities.

The project's collaborating partners are the California Dental Association, the California Dental Hygienists' Association, the American Dental Hygienists' Association, and the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.

Project Staff:
Beth Mertz, MA, Principal Investigator
Kevin Grumbach, MD, Chair, Professor, Family and Community Medicine
Dennis Keane, MPH, Survey Manager


Funding:
This project is jointly funded by the California Dental Association, the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, Bureau of the Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration (Grant # 1 U79 HP 00004-010) and the UCSF Center to Address Disparities in Children's Oral Health, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health (Grant # NIH U54 DE 142501).

For more information please contact Beth Mertz at 415-502-7934 or bmertz@thecenter.ucsf.edu