ADHA Access August 2012 : Page 16
children feel that they are being treated because they are ‘poor’ or in a disadvantaged group. All children, in all socioeconomic levels, are examined and provided with follow-up treatment, as needed.” The impact this has on the attitudes of children is tremendous, and it stays with them into adulthood, as evident by the research that has been conducted on the overall oral health of Switzerland resi-dents. “It really has made a huge difference in as far as reducing DMF index scores,” Glastetter said. *ODVWHWWHUDFNQRZOHGJHGWKDWLWLVPXFKPRUHGLI¿FXOWIRU IRUHLJQK\JLHQLVWVWR¿QGHPSOR\PHQWLQ6ZLW]HUODQGQRZWKDQ in the past; however, dental hygienists currently employed there have greater job security than their counterparts in North America. “Employers in Switzerland are required to vest their employees in WKHFRPSDQ\UHWLUHPHQWSODQ�f;VWDUWLQJIURPWKH¿UVWGD\RIHPSOR\ -ment, and vacation time typically ranges from four to six weeks of holiday leave per year.” Employers are required to give three months’ notice, or equivalent severance pay for termination. “Den-tists in the U.S. can let their hygienists go on a whim and without prior notice”, she said. “In Switzerland, the job of a dental hygienist can be challenging, but it is secure employment.” which included dental health education for school children of all ages, oral health education to parents and communities and oral health care for adults. Through these activities, she was able to help over 20,000 people per year. Sakagami said the experience of going from America to Japan to practice was exciting, and a bit scary. The changes from an Ameri-can health care system to a Japanese one were surprising – every-thing seemed different, even what students were taught regarding clinical practices was unlike anything she experienced before. The differences led her to appreciate both systems. For example, in -DSDQGHQWDOK\JLHQLVWVFDQQRWRSHQWKHLURZQRI¿FHVDQGGHQWDO hygienists can not perform local anesthesia. However, most dental hygiene programs in Japan have become three-year programs, and include courses for senior care. Although America does not have a universal health care system in place, its education system is more robust – Japan does not have graduate programs in dental hygiene and only few dental hygiene programs are four-year programs. Sakagami said she looks back at her experience and sees inter-national work as a great way for all hygienists to learn how to be-come better educators, not just to fellow dental hygienists, but to SDWLHQWVDVZHOO+HUWLPHLQ-DSDQKDVEHHQDWUHPHQGRXVEHQH¿W to her career, and she recommends others strive to do the same. Keiko Sakagami — Japan Most oral health care systems in the world go through far-reaching, drastic changes that take travelling dental hygienists some time to get use to. And even though Japan has its fair share of these big changes, Keiko Sakagami, RDH, EdD, MCHES, learned that it’s not always the big changes you have to be mindful of – the small ones can have just as big of an impact. Sakagami worked in Tokyo as a dental hygienist at a company that produced oral health care products. She joined the team that performed the company’s historical oral health care activities, Amy Soss — Grenada, West Indies As a dental hygiene student at New York University (NYU), Amy Soss, RDH, clinical instructor at NYU and private practice dental hygienist, envisioned a career composed mostly of clinical work and treating patients. Public health work and advocacy were not on the agenda, until an opportunity to travel to Grenada on a dental outreach arose. A clinical manager of the University who was from Grenada approached the dental outreach department of NYU and told them that Grenada had a huge problem with access to care because there are a very limited number of dentists on the island. There are eight dentists on the whole island and about 100,000 people, so people weren’t getting care. That number shocked Soss – she couldn’t believe that a com-munity of that size could have so few health care workers. So she GHFLGHGWRVHHIRUKHUVHOI�f;À\LQJWR*UHQDGDWRDVVHVVWKHVLWXDWLRQ and determine if annual visits to the country fell in line with NYU’s global outreach program. +HU¿UVWWULSFRQWDLQHGOLWWOHLQWKHZD\RIDFWXDOGHQWLVWU\�f;DQG her results were eye-opening. ³0\¿UVWH[SHULHQFHWKHUH�f;WKHNLGVUHDOO\KDGQHYHUEHHQWR a dentist, and if they had, the only reason they ever went was to SXOORXWWKHLUWHHWK7KHFKLOGUHQZHUHWHUUL¿HGRIXVIRUWKHPRVW part, because their association with the dentist was thought of as a punishment.” It became clear that the goal was to change the perception of oral health care in the country, even if it meant just going into some of the area schools. Soss quickly learned that oral health care was far from a priority to these children. “When we saw the children, we asked them a few questions, and one of the questions was ‘Do you have your own toothbrush?’ Most didn’t have their own toothbrush, and a lot of the ones that said they did said they shared it with their siblings.” Once Soss learned how oral care was administered, it was no surprise that the children thought of the whole thing as punishment. “Since there are only eight dentists on the island, and one is an orthodontist, they are run like a mill. The dentist would line them up, give injections, and then go in and extract, and that was it. And it’s scary to them – they’re little kids.” Their reaction to Soss and her team spoke volumes, putting the gravity of the scene into context for her. “Their initial instinct was to be scared when they met us.” In the years since her initial visit, Soss has returned to the com-munity to deliver basic oral health care and education. The num-{ Most dental hygiene programs in Japan have become three-year programs, and include courses for senior care. Keiko Sakagami, RDH, EdD, MCHES 16 AUG 2012 access
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