Abstract
The aim of this study is to identify future-oriented tasks for Korean dental hygienists based on a literature review. A literature search is performed using 14 keywords related to tasks carried out by dental hygienists, and included articles published from 2000 to 2019 in the databases KISS, RISS, DBpia, NDSL, Papersearch, Pubmed, and Google Scholar. Six reviewers assessed the titles and abstracts of articles, and an article was selected if the study was considered to cover future-oriented tasks for Korean dental hygienists. Based on the results six local studies and two foreign studies were used for literature review and data extraction. In total, 38 tasks were classified as future-oriented tasks of dental hygienists according to the following criteria: 1) tasks that were specifically referred to as future-oriented tasks, and 2) tasks that could be classified as future-oriented tasks although no specific reference was made. Of these, the most frequently mentioned tasks were measuring periodontal pocket depth, dental hygiene assessment, providing dietary advice, infiltration anesthesia, and root planing. These were extracted from five of the eight studies, including both local and foreign studies. Dental hygiene planning, emergency, emergency management, and smoking cessation were the next most common tasks based on four studies. Even though some of these future-oriented tasks for Korean dental hygienists are included in the dentistry curriculum, and are currently performed as clinical practice for dental hygienists. Nonetheless, the reference to the legal scope is unclear. It is necessary to reconsider the scope of tasks of dental hygienists to reflect changes in domestic and foreign dental care delivery, thereby contributing to the oral health promotion of the public, where safety is guaranteed under legal protection.
