Current Perceptions of the Role of the Dental Hygienist Within the Medical Team - Essay Example

Barriers encountered by dental hygienists often involve the failure of coordination and cooperation. It involves failure of communication. Skills which help resolve these communication barriers need to be applied and improved by the dental hygienist in order to ensure that these problems do not worsen and the gaps in medical care would be filled. These skills include: speaking, listening, persuading, and leadership. With these skills, the role of the dental hygienist can be secured in the medical team.

 They all perform important functions in the care of the patient and in the delivery of medical services. The dental hygienist is not strictly a part of the conventional medical team, however, in the current settings, their functions have been increasing. Other members of the medical team view the roles of dental hygienists within the team as essential in the recovery and delivery of medical services. The purpose of this study is to determine how members of the medical health team view the role of the dental hygienist within their professional setting.

It will focus on diabetes, stroke and heart specialists and their perception and utilisation of the hygienist during patient care. It will investigate what barriers dental hygienists face in becoming active participants within this broader health team; and the skills needed that could further improve communication between the dental hygienist and the health team. Method This paper will gather materials from various literatures on the current topic. Initial data gathering shall involve a library search of materials in relation to dental hygienists and the health care team.

This library search shall involve the manual search of books, journal, magazines, and news articles. Relevant materials shall be set aside for further evaluation. An internet search shall also be conducted using the search terms: dental hygienists/medical team; dental hygienists/diabetes; dental hygienists/stroke; and similar combinations. Relevant articles and journals found through this search shall also be set aside for further evaluation. Materials which are found through these library and internet searches shall be evaluated based on their relevance and current contributions to the subject matter.