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Abstract Objective To what extent do dental hygienists (DH) employed by the Public Dental Health Service (PDHS) in Sweden use the new classification system, their knowledge of it and their attitudes towards it. Methods A web‐based questionnaire was distributed to DHs in the PDHS in different regions of Sweden. A total of 197 registered DHs responded. The questions covered their knowledge, attitudes and possible barriers to implementation of the new classification system of periodontal and peri‐implant diseases, and a question about their perceived need for a complementary digital tool to facilitate its implementation. Results Seventy per cent of the DHs stated that they used the new classification system. Twenty‐nine per cent of the participants were confident in classifying periodontitis under the new system. Furthermore, 36% of the participants considered their knowledge of the new system to be good and 33% to be poor or non‐existent. Several DHs stated that the new system was too time‐consuming, that it caused stress, that their knowledge was inadequate and that they, therefore, considered it too difficult to use. Eighty per cent of the participants were positive to a digital tool as a complement and support to classify periodontitis and peri‐implantitis. Conclusion The present study showed that most of the DHs used the new classification system and one‐third considered their knowledge to be good, although it was difficult and time‐consuming. Furthermore, in general, the DHs were positive to a digital tool to facilitate application of the new classification system.
Malmqvist et al. (Thu,) studied this question.