Date of Award

Summer 1990

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Dental Hygiene

Program/Concentration

Dental Hygiene

Committee Director

Deborah Bauman

Committee Member

Michele L. Darby

Committee Member

Deanne Shuman

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.D46 N54

Abstract

The purpose of this investig~tion was to conduct a comprehensive dental hygiene manpower study in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Data were collected to establish the present number of dental hygienists and dentists in Virginia; the estimated number of practicing and nonpracticing dental hygienists and dentists in Virginia; and the past, present and forecasted employment opportunities for dental hygienists in Virginia. Primary and secondary data were collected via professional associations, state regulatory boards, health agencies, employment and educational commissions and labor statistics bureaus. Frequency distributions were used to analyze the data. Results suggest that there is an adequate supply of dental hygiene manpower to meet the demand for dental hygienists in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Three areas in Virginia exhibit a surplus of dental hygiene manpower, and eight areas exhibit a deficit of dental hygiene manpower suggesting a manpower maldistribution rather than a manpower shortage. Recommendations to address the dental hygiene manpower maldistribution include recruitment efforts targeting non-practicing dental hygienists and potential students, attracting dental hygiene manpower from surplus areas to deficient areas, making dental hygiene employment opportunities more attractive and supporting existing educational standards for dental hygienists in Virginia. These aforementioned recommendations could increase the public's access to dental hygiene care in Virginia.

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DOI

10.25777/yz4r-wr78

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