A questionnaire was mailed to 1217 dentists whose names appear in the Dentist Register of 1987 in order to assess their awareness and acceptance of hepatitis B vaccine and their pattern of glove usage. Almost all the respondents (99.6%) were aware of the availability of the hepatitis B vaccine yet only 44.8% have received the vaccine. This is in spite of the fact that the majority (61.2%) of the vaccine non-acceptors have no reservations concerning the vaccine. About 71% and 63% of the vaccine-acceptors and non-acceptors respectively believed that the risk of their contracting hepatitis B was high or very high. About 22% of the vaccine non-acceptors never used gloves when treating patients as compared to 9% among vaccine acceptors. Overall, about 78% of the respondents have experienced needleprick injuries in the 3 years preceding the survey.
In 1921, New Zealand began training school dental nurses, subsequently deploying them throughout the country in school-based clinics providing basic dental care for children. The concept of training dental nurses, later to be designated dental therapists, was adopted by other countries as a means of improving access to care, particularly for children. This paper profiles six countries that utilise dental therapists, with a description of the training that therapists receive in these countries, and the context in which they practice. Based on available demographic information, it also updates the number of dental therapists practising globally, as well as the countries in which they practice. In several countries, dental therapy is now being integrated with dental hygiene in training and practice to create a new type of professional complementary to a dentist. Increasingly, dental therapists are permitted to treat adults as well as children. The paper also describes the status of a current initiative to introduce dental therapy to the United States. It concludes by suggesting that dental therapists can become valued members of the dental team throughout the world, helping to improve access to care and reducing existing disparities in oral health.