How will consumers be affected by on-the-job training programs?
On-the-job training is just not adequate to prepare dental hygienists to provide safe patient care. Providing a complete prophylaxis (teeth cleaning) that prevents oral disease is a complicated skill using a razor-sharp instrument. An unskilled and inexperienced oral health care worker runs a greater risk of jeopardizing a patients health. This is especially important because the bacteria in gum disease has been linked to life-threatening diseases and conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, respiratory ailments, and pre-mature, underweight babies. For example, oral bacteria can spread throughout the body, inflaming coronary arteries and causing changes in blood pressure, heart rate, heart function, and promoting blood clots, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. How do you know dentistry is in favor of on-the-job training? Organized dentistry has been trying to give on-the-job training programs for dental hygienists a foothold for more than 10 years now, but recent actions t
