International Survey Regarding Oral Health Care in Facilities for Elderly in the Dental Hygiene Student Exchange Program

Background: In 2010, Tokushima University School of Dentistry concluded an academic agreement with Metropolia University of Applied Sciences (Metropolia UAS), which offers degree programs of oral health in Finland. We have collaborated through the student exchange program to foster the knowledge of future global dental hygienists in both schools. In this study, we carried out a survey on the attitude of the dental hygiene students regarding oral health care in facilities for the elderly to develop a new international education program for dental hygiene students.
Materials and Methods: The questionnaire on oral health care in facilities for the elderly was given out to the exchange students of Metropolia UAS and students of Tokushima University. Ninety-one (91) dental hygiene students of Metropolia UAS and fifty-six (56) dental hygiene students of Tokushima University participated in this study and statistical analysis were carried out.
Results: One hundred forty-seven (147) students from both schools participated in the survey. 80.2% of the students from Metropolia UAS and 69.6% of the students from Tokushima University chose “Moderate” and “Bad” to the questions of “What is your opinion about the current state of oral health care in health care facilities for the elderly?”. There was no statistically significant difference in the answer to the question “Could you work in a health care facility for the elderly as a dental hygienist?” from students of both schools. There was also a statistically significant difference observed by Chi-squared test in the answer of “Do you think that your knowledge of oral health care for the elderly is sufficient?” and the answers of free writing which suggested that Metropolia UAS students have a more positive attitude towards the knowledge of oral health care for the elderly than Tokushima University students.
Conclusion: The results of this international questionnaire survey suggested that many students of Metropolia UAS can be considered to have enough knowledge of oral health care for elderly when compared with students of Tokushima University.