Cross-Cultural Competency Adaptability of Dental Hygiene Educators

This study was conducted to discover the extent dental hygiene educators in 25 entry-level dental hygiene programs from the Upper Midwest demonstrate Emotional Resilience, Flexibility and Openness, Perceptual Acuity, and Personal Autonomy as they relate to their level of education and multicultural experiences. An additional purpose was to examine dental hygiene educators in regard to personal cross-cultural experiences, formal cultural diversity education, usefulness of their education and preparation, and confidence to meet the Commission on Dental Accreditation (2007) Standard 2-19 which states Graduates must be competent in interpersonal and communication skills to effectively interact with diverse population groups (p. 23). This research concludes that there is a need to identify cultural diversity education to increase the knowledge and understanding of minority and new immigrant populations; to develop oral health materials that address the ethnic and immigrant populations’ specific health beliefs or cultural views based on family structure, religion, and medical beliefs; and to support multicultural experiences to prepare future practitioners.