"Dental Hygiene Curricula Regarding the Geriatric Implant Patient"
Life expectancy in the United States has increased greatly over the years. The geriatric population (age 65 and older) has increased from 12,295,000 in 1950 to 31,559,000 in 1990 and is projected to be 68,532,000 in the year 2050 (Damay, 1994). The geriatric population has special oral health care needs that require intervention from the dental hygienist. Along with an increase in the aged population and evidence that implant treatment may become more common than constructing dentures, it has been demonstrated that there has been a marked increase in the number of implants being placed (Worthington, 1988). The dental hygienist needs to be knowledgeable with all aspects of implantology. The level of education, program setting and the extent of implantology in curriculum influences the dental hygiene graduate's ability to treat implant patients. The current amount of implantology in dental hygiene programs is not known. In order to assess implantology in current dental hygiene curricula, research needs to be done. This research will determine the current status of dental hygiene programs in preparing students to treat the geriatric implant population. This descriptive study consists of a self-administered questionnaire to all dental hygiene programs in the United States. Data will be collected and analyzed by doing Chi-square statistical tests. Effective implantology curriculum will allow the dental hygiene student to carry this knowledge and confidence into practice.