Comparison of traditional and experimental expanded function dental hygiene students in hand scaling

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether an expanded function dental hygiene curriculum prepared students to perform traditional dental hygiene clinical procedures at the same level of competency as a traditional dental hygiene curriculum. Hand scaling was selected as the most appropriate procedure to evaluate. Fourth-year dental hygiene students enrolled in a special expanded function curriculum were compared to fourth-year students enrolled in the traditional dental hygiene curriculum during a controlled one-day experiment. Results indicated no statistically significant differences between the two student groups in the performance of scaling procedures as measured by number of tooth surfaces on which calculus remained. It was concluded that the University of Iowa expanded function dental hygiene curriculum prepared students to perform hand scaling procedures at a competency level comparable to that of the traditional curriculum.