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Dental hygienists are in high demand due to insufficient workforce and a lack of an effective reinstatement support system. We investigated the reasons for willingness to work by analyzing the survey results of the employment status of Japanese dental hygienists conducted by Japan Dental Hygienists’ Association. In total, we mailed 16,113 questionnaires to all members of the association (response rate 53.4%). We carried out statistical analysis to determine the specific items to improve the hygienists’ working environment. Fourteen factors of working conditions that they wish to improve were determined. Structural equation modeling showed that a path, “Reduction of work volume”, “Reduction of working hours” and “Increased number of holidays” were higher than other items. A decision analysis demonstrated that most of the respondents answered “Yes” to “Improvement in working conditions including higher salary” out of those who answered, “Strongly disagree” for “Do you feel that dental hygienist work is rewarding?”. Improving workplace environment is integral to keeping high levels of work motivation and a low turnover rate. Most of the hygienists wish for a salary raise among all the conditions. The transition from conventional work styles to non-conventional flexible working patterns is needed.

A dental hygienist performs various daily work-related tasks. The aim of this study was to elucidate the daily work-related tasks of Japanese dental hygienists and construct groups to understand the relationships between daily work-related tasks, the attractiveness of dental hygienist work, and the improvement of the working environment. The Japan Dental Hygienists’ Association has conducted a postal survey on the employment status of dental hygienists in Japan every five years since 1981. The data on the implementation of 74 daily work-related tasks in dental offices were analyzed from the survey carried out in 2019. The questionnaires were distributed to 16,722 dental hygienists and 8932 were returned (collection rate: 53.4%). The 3796 dental hygienists working at dental clinics were clearly classified into nine groups. Full-time workers requested a reduced workload. Part-time workers requested better treatment rather than reducing the workload. Salary and human relationships were common problems with the working environment. Full-time workers felt that job security was an attractive feature of the dental hygienist role. The data presented in this study may help with the improvement of working conditions for dental hygienists.

There is a shortage of dental hygienists for dental clinics in Japan. An ideal solution would be for dormant dental hygienists to re-enter the workforce. In this study, we identified the obstacles preventing these dental hygienists from re-entering the workforce. The Japan Dental Hygienists’ Association surveyed all 16,113 members about their working conditions. Among the 101 items in the questionnaire, 11 items specifically targeted the reasons why dental hygienists leave their jobs. Among 8780 responses (54.5%), 1063 were from members who had resigned from jobs as dental hygienists. Three hundred and fifty-five (34.4%) answered “Yes” to the question “I would like to return to work if conditions are satisfactory.” The most frequent cause for leaving a job was” Childbirth and child-rearing” (16.9%). “Working status/working hours” (15.7%) was the main obstacle to re-entry. Furthermore, dental hygienists with intentions to re-enter decided to leave their jobs most frequently because of “Childbirth and child-rearing” and “Working status/working hours.” Improvement of the social support system for dental hygienists is required to ensure a sufficient supply of dental health services.

Job attractiveness and job satisfaction are important factors in the continuity of employment among healthcare professionals. The aim of this study was to assess job satisfaction and job attractiveness among dental hygienists in Japan. The Japan Dental Hygienists Association conducted a survey of the employment status of Japanese dental hygienists in 2019. Questionnaires were distributed to all 16,722 members, and 8932 were returned (Collection rate: 53.4%). Data from 7869 currently working dental hygienists were analysed in this study. We analysed seven items of job attractiveness, 14 items of job satisfaction, and 13 items of request for improving the working environment. Item response theory and structural equation modelling (SEM) were utilized for the analysis. For attractiveness of dental hygienists&rsquo, work, respondents placed greater emphasis on the fact that dental hygienists needed national qualifications rather than on income stability. SEM showed that job satisfaction consisted of two factors, &lsquo, Value for work&rsquo, and &lsquo, Working environment&rsquo, as did job attractiveness, with &lsquo, Contribution&rsquo, Assured income&rsquo, Value for work affects the contribution to people, and, employment environment affects assured income. Improving job satisfaction and work environments could help to improve the employment rate of dental hygienists, which could positively influence patient care.

Perioperative oral care management is effective in the prevention of postoperative complications, and dental hygienists play an important role. The aim of this study was to elucidate the practice and substantial role of dental hygienists in perioperative oral care management. The Japan Dental Hygienists Association conducted a survey of the employment status of Japanese dental hygienists in 2019. Questionnaires were distributed to all 16,722 members, and 8932 were returned (collection rate: 53.4%). A total of 3560 dental hygienists were working at dental clinics and 1450 (38.2%) were performing perioperative oral care management. More than 90% of them implemented conventional oral care practice. Less than half of the dental hygienists implemented treatment concerning oral functions. Only 9.9% of dental hygienists recognized shortened hospital stay as an effect of perioperative oral care management. Dental hygienists who implemented both nutritional instruction and training of swallowing function or mouth rinsing instructions recognized the shortened hospital stay effect. Overall implementation of perioperative oral care management led to shortened hospital stay. Implementation of perioperative oral care management required knowledge and skills related to systemic health conditions. A stepwise educational program is necessary for perioperative oral care management to become commonplace for dental hygienists.

This study was based in a hospital setting. Patients with acute symptoms face a life-threatening crisis and often have systemic complications during the convalescence stage. During the acute stage, oral function does not work and oral hygiene status deteriorates. A gauze or sponge brush is generally used to wipe the oral cavity, however, this process does not clean the oral cavity enough. Effective oral care requires better methods. Patients participating in this study were all hospitalized by ambulance and with acute symptoms. During the convalescence stage, patients were assigned application of mucosal brushing or wiping by gauze or sponge brush by order of hospitalization. The effects were evaluated by the number of bacteria on the tongue surface, serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and body temperature. Changes in bacterial count, body temperature, and CRP were effectively reduced in the mucosal brushing group compared to the wiping by gauze or sponge brush group. Based on mixed effect modeling, the coefficient of mucosal brushing for CRP was &minus, 2.296 and for body temperature was &minus, 0.067 and statistically significant. This simple method can effectively prevent systemic complication of inpatients with deteriorated oral conditions. This method may also be effective for the elderly in nursing homes or perioperative oral-care management.

Dental hygienists require proficiency in a wide variety of job skills. Dental hygienists should master their job skills step by step, and the prioritization of these steps is important. In this study, we investigated the frequency at which Japanese dental hygienists performed daily jobs and attempted to classify the jobs according to the proficiency levels. The aim of this study was to surmise the order in which skills should be mastered in terms of priority and to investigate the relationship between daily jobs and the motivation for completing jobs. The Japan Dental Hygienists’ Association conducts a survey on the employment status of dental hygienists in Japan every five years. The questionnaire is distributed to all members of the Japan Dental Hygienists’ Association. In this study, the responses of 3,807 dental hygienists who worked at dental clinics were analyzed. We analyzed 77 kinds of daily jobs and the items regarding the motivation to work. For the analysis, item response theory (IRT), structural equation modeling (SEM), and logistic regression analysis were applied. According to the item response curve, the jobs were classified into 11 clusters. The jobs classified into Cluster 1 were the jobs that most of the average-proficiency Japanese dental hygienists performed. Scaling and root planing were the representative jobs in Cluster 1. Performing the jobs classified into Cluster 5 clearly discriminated whether the dental hygienists were performing multiple jobs. Jobs concerning care for elderly or disabled patients were classified into Cluster 5. Jobs concerning gerodontology, implants, management of staff, and consultations were significantly associated with the motivation to perform jobs. Polishing and adjustment of orthodontic apparatuses was negatively associated with the motivation to perform jobs. Understanding the features of each daily job of dental hygienists is important for planning dental hygienists’ lifelong educational programs and evaluating their skill levels and proficiency levels. The results presented in this study may help to reveal the characteristics of dental hygienists’ daily jobs.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an oral care intervention program on the incidence of pneumonia and fever as a surrogate endpoint. In addition, we tried to determine the oral care risk factors for the incidence of fever. We provided an oral care program for the elderly at one private nursing home in July 2013. The maximum capacity of the nursing home was 60 residents. The body temperatures of all residents were measured twice a day and were summarized as the incidence of fever over a one-month period, which was used as the dependent variable. The residents’ life conditions, number of teeth, and prescribed diet were used as independent variables. The factors that affected the incidence of fever were the number of remaining teeth, a prescribed diet of sliced food, the meal care level, and the oralCandidalevels. These risk factors affected the incidence of fever independently or interactively with oral care. Some risk factors for the incidence of fever were enhanced by the oral care program. It is important to evaluate and control these factors before the implementation of an oral care program.

This article explores the construction and shifting of “expert” and “novice” roles between and within two languages (Japanese and English). Taking a language socialization perspective while drawing upon insights from conversation analysis on epistemics in interaction, it analyzes seven hours of audio recordings of dinnertime talk in a Japanese-speaking immigrant family with a university-aged adult daughter living together in Australia. The analysis identifies several key communicative practices, such as word definitions and repair, which participants deploy in displaying epistemic stances that constitute the self and family members as possessing relatively more or less knowledge and expertise (epistemic status) with respect to these two languages. The findings reveal the dynamics of language socialization in a bilingual/immigrant setting in which the relative roles of expert and novice emerge, shift, and are negotiated in interaction. In conclusion, the findings are discussed in relation to language expertise, power and hierarchy, agency and bidirectional language socialization.

Background Working dental hygienists is not sufficient. About 40% licensed dental hygienist are leaving their professional jobs. Re-entry of leaving dental hygienist is expected to compensate the unbalance of demand and supply. The purpose of this study was to identify the obstacles for re-entry of leaving dental hygienists and propose the countermeasures for supporting re-entry Methods The Japan Dental Hygienists Association has been conducted survey of the Employment Status of Japanese dental hygienist every 5 years since 1981. Questionnaires were distributed for all members of the Japan Dental Hygienists Association. Among the 94 items, following eight specific items were used for analysis: 1. The reason of leaving the job. 2. How long have you been leaving the job? 3. Willingness to reentry. 4. How do you find your work for re-entry? 5. Is there any obstacle for the reentry? 6. What is your obstacle for reentry? 7. Do you need lecture course for reentry? 8. What kind of lecture course contents do you want to attend? Results Questioners were distributed for 16,113 members of Appeases Dental hygienist Association, and 8,780 were responded (collection rate: 54.5%). By log-linear analysis, for the reason of leaving the job, dissatisfaction with work content and marriage were significant in age groups ≤29 and 30-39. Child birth / child rearing were significant in age groups of ≤29, 30-39 and 40-49. Payment were significant in 30-39 and 40-49.Child birth / rearing and working hours were most important impact on the leaving job and obstacle for reentry. In this study, number of dental hygienist who leave the job by child birth / rearing was highest. Conclusion Workplace improvement including flexible working time may be most important factors or the reentry for the dental hygienist with leaving jobs. Social support system is indispensable to improve women's working environment.

In Japan, there is currently a shortage of dental hygienists. The number of dental hygienists as a workforce at dental clinical practice is not sufficient. Several factors affect career retention and job satisfaction of hygienists and these factors are considered to correlate with each other to construct networks. The aim of this study was to present a structural model of job satisfaction of Japanese dental hygienists and to determine the characteristics of unmotivated hygienists. The Japan Dental Hygienists’ Association has conducted a survey on their working environments every five years since 1981. Questionnaires were sent to all members of the association (16,113) and 8932 answers were returned. The data of 3807 active dental hygienists who worked at clinics were analyzed. Items associated with job satisfaction were derived from two latent variables, namely, the intrinsic psychosocial factors for the value of the work and extrinsic employment advantage. Based on the structural equation modeling, the association of value was higher than that of advantage. Most of the hygienists wished to continue working as dental hygienists. More than 60% felt their work required a high level of expertise. The value of the profession is deeply rooted in job satisfaction, motivation, and job retention of Japanese dental hygienists. Working environments where dental hygienists make great use of their specialized skills can lead to high career retention which prevent them from taking career breaks.

Oral health care by dental hygienists contributes to the maintenance of nutritional and general health for older people in nursing facilities. This study aimed to investigate daily tasks and willingness to work among dental hygienists working in nursing facilities in Japan. In 2019, using a self-administered questionnaire, a postal cross-sectional survey was conducted among members of the Japanese Dental Hygienists’ Association. Questionnaires were distributed to all 16,722 Association members (responses, n = 8932, return rate, 53.4%). We analysed data from 368 dental hygienists currently working in nursing facilities. Item response theory and correspondence analyses were performed. In total, &gt, 90% of dental hygienists undertook oral examinations and provided oral hygiene instructions to residents and facility staff. In contrast, the implementation rate of tasks related to interprofessional collaboration was relatively low (approximately 50%), and 72.6% of dental hygienists indicated that they wanted to continue working in nursing facilities. Their willingness to work was closely associated with work involving interprofessional collaboration. Our study findings showed that dental hygienists’ work content in nursing facilities was diverse, but that there was variation in implemented tasks. Willingness to continue working in nursing facilities was associated with interprofessional collaboration among dental hygienists.

Anti-citrullinated peptide antibody (ACPA) is a highly specific autoantibody to rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Recent studies have revealed that periodontal disease (PD) is closely associated with RA and production of ACPA in RA. Analyses of associations between PD and ACPA production in a healthy population may deepen our understandings. Here, we analyzed a total of 9554 adult healthy subjects. ACPA and IgM-rheumatoid factor (RF) was quantified and PD status was evaluated using the number of missing teeth (MT), the Community Periodontal Index (CPI) and Loss of Attachment (LA) for these subjects. PD status was analyzed for its association with the positivity and categorical levels of ACPA and RF conditioned for covariates which were shown to be associated with PD, ACPA or RF. As a result, all of MT, CPI and LA showed suggestive or significant associations with positivity (p=0.024, 0.0042 and 0.037, respectively) and levels of ACPA (p≤0.00031), but none of the PD parameters were associated with those of RF. These association patterns were also observed when we analyzed 6206 non-smokers of the participants. The significant associations between PD parameters and positivity and levels of ACPA in healthy population support the fundamental involvement of PD with ACPA production., 歯周病と関節リウマチ発症との相関を示す. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2015-04-21.

交通計画の事業説明会やパブリックインボルブメント，住民参加型の委員会など，交通計画にたずさわるエンジニアと住民との対話機会は多い．しかし交通計画者の育成機関である大学教育において対話能力の向上を目指したカリキュラムは十分ではない．筆者らは，土木エンジニアが非専門家に対し直接的，自律的，主体的に対話を行う能力を育む自律型対話プログラムを提案している．本研究は，この自律型対話プログラムを活用して，交通計画技術である交通需要分析と費用便益分析の内容を大学生が住民へプレゼンテーションを行うことを課題として，学生の自律的対話能力を向上させる授業を実践し，その効果を把握する．

土木計画事業において，市民との対話を円滑に進めるためファシリテーターやメディエーターといった第三者が必要とされ，その養成が行われてきている．そうした養成だけでなく，われわれは当事者である対話の場の参加者が主体的，自律的に対話を行えることが重要だと考える．しかし対話能力を育成する機会および場は少ない．そこで，こうした能力育成を行う場として大学教育に着目し，大学生を対象とした授業プログラムを研究開発した．このプログラムは，ワークショップ型授業として設計しているため，対話能力の改善ポイントを学生へフィードバックし，学生自身の気づきを促進させることに力点を置いている．この授業プログラムに基づき，土木工学を学ぶ大学を対象に授業を実践し，その効果の測定と課題の把握を行った．

本研究では、口腔乾燥を自覚したひとへのCapparis masaikai(マビンロウ)を配合したタブレット(MT)の応用にあたって、MTの嗜好性及び口腔内の潤い感を把握するため、成人を対象に官能評価を行った。その結果、1.MTは、甘味・渋味・苦味・粉っぽさがあり、爽やかさが少ないと評価された。2.MTの若年女性の嗜好性に対する評価が低かった。このことから、MTは味の嗜好性の評価や総合評価を向上させる必要性があると考えられた。3.MTは口腔内での潤い感が60分持続し、その効果が特に高齢者群で高かった。このことから、今後口腔乾燥症を有する成人・高齢者に口腔内の潤い感を付与する有効な手立ての一つとなると考えられた。, As the taste characteristic of the tablet which mixed Capparis masaikai, a sensory evaluation was carried out among young panelists (23 men, average age 25.5 and 31 women, average age 22.2) and elderly panelists (15 men, average age 72.1 and 17 women, average age 74.3) in order to grasp the preference of taste and moisture sensation in the oral cavity. The sample of the sensory evaluation was made to be two kinds of the tablets of MT (the tablet including the 15% Capparis masaikai extract) and N-MT (the tablet of the identical composition without the Capparis masaikai extract). The sensory evaluation items were made to be the time until the tablets melted in the oral cavity, and strength and weakness and preference, total evaluation of the taste of the tablet in licking and after the licking. The following results were obtained: 1. MT was evaluated that sweetness, astringent taste and bitterness and powder were stronger than N-MT, but it was evaluated that refreshingness was weaker than N-MT. 2. An evaluation for the preference of the young women of MT was low. From this result, there seemed to be a necessity of improving evaluation and total evaluation of the preference of taste of MT. 3. Moisture sensation in the oral cavity kept 60 minutes on MT, and the effect was especially high in the elderly panelists. From this result, MT seemed to be one of the effective ways that gave moisture sensation in the oral cavity to adult and elderly people who would be conscious of the dry mouth in future.

The enrichment of a trace amount of manganese(II) from sample water was carried out by the combined use of a mixture of finely divided cation and anion exchangers and 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol (PAR). Manganese–PAR complex was effectively collected onto the mixed resin by batch method in the pH range 9.1–10.2. The manganese on the mixed resin was eluted into hydrochloric acid solution, extracted with 4-benzoyl-3-methyl-1 -phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one (BMPP) into MIBK and determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. The recovery of 3 μg of manganese from the synthetic sample solution (100–500 ml) was in the range 95–97%.