Six trends affecting dental hygiene practice are discussed: demographic changes; disease pattern changes; higher societal expectations; financing and delivery system changes; technological advancement; and regulatory and legislative trends. It is argued that, though the trends reflect positively on dental hygiene, practitioners need to increase…

Economic, demographic, technological, and practice factors outside the health professions that will influence education and practice in the future are outlined, and critical educational components (sciences, epidemiology, public health, quantitative skills, literacy, information retrieval and use) and elements in the academic and clinical…