The teaching is organized as follows:

Learning outcomes

The course will allow the student to obtain the necessary preparation for the study and use of educational methodology applied in the dental hygienist profession. Cognitive processes such as learning, memory, perception, attention, thought, motivation, emotion, and communication will be contextualized in the general methodological system of cognitive sciences, enabling the student to find all the elements of comparison and integration with methodologies, theories and models A historical and applicative perspective in the world of contemporary research.
The course also aims to provide a basic knowledge of Psychology of Development by presenting an overview of human development from birth to the old age by deepening some of the characteristic aspects of Clinical Psychology needed to develop appropriate communicative and relational skills in the relationship with the Patient of the future Dental Hygienist.

The course will provide knowledge about the shape of dental hygienist and its possible oral health promotion roles in different age groups in line with what the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization
Specifically, the following topics will be discussed:

• Dental hygienist and dental team
• Promoting health
• Anatomy of the oral cavity (teeth and parodont)
• Communication in dentistry

Program

Starting from the analysis of the historical path that Psychology has led to identify itself as experimental discipline, we will address the most important issues involved in cognitive processes. The first of the aspects studied will be the methodological and epistemological approach to understand the relationship between Psychology understood as experimental discipline and other humanistic disciplines that contribute to the study of human thought.
Other topics discussed will be the classics of Psychology such as the study of perceptual experience, psychophysics, theories, models and research on consciousness, attention, memory, thought, intelligence, learning, motivation, emotions, communication. Arguments such as the nature and treatment of mental disorders, the development of life-long personalities and the behavioral biology that will contribute to the organization of human cognitive architecture will also be touched upon. In detail, Following topics:
- Historical Introduction to the Psychology of Cognitive Processes
- Methods in Psychology
- The perception
- Attention and conscience
- Learning
- The memory
- Language and communication
- The thought
- The emotions


The psychological issues discussed will then be reflected in the context of the Dental Hygiene Board. Therefore, topics such as the importance of the Psychology of Developmental and Clinical Age in the Ddc in Dental Hygiene will be discussed; The psychology of development and the main theoretical perspectives of psychological development; Social and emotional development; Psychological development in the various ages of life: first and second childhood, adolescence, adulthood and advanced age; The psychological function of the mouth and teeth; Communication with the patient (verbal, paraverbale and non-verbal); The promotion of oral health: how to motivate the patient to change their oral hygiene habits; Psychology clinicacon particular reference to dementiaphobia, pain and anxiety: how to help the patient to deal with them.

Particular attention will be given to the following socio-organizational issues:
Oral health in society
- The concept of public health and individual health
- Evolution of health systems
- Oral health promotion: health education and prevention

Health Services and Dental Care Models in the EU:
- Reform of health systems in OECD countries - The most popular models of health services - Classification of dental healthcare models - Essential Levels of Care (LEA)

Disease epidemiology and detection procedures:
- Definition of epidemiology - Case concept - Diagnostic tests - Measurement of the frequency of the disease - Types of epidemiological studies - Dento-paradontal epidemiological indices - The trend of the prevalence of dental caries in Europe and Italy - The progress of periodontal disease

Identification of at-risk populations:
- targeted prevention interventions for carious pathology
- targeted prevention interventions for periodontal disease
- targeted prevention interventions for malocclusion
- targeted prevention interventions for traumatic pathology

National guidelines for the promotion of oral health in an evolving age
Discipline for dental care in the province of Trento
Dental prevention goals:
- The role of the dentist
- The role of dental hygienist

The prevention of caries
- Fluoroprophylaxis - Oral hygiene instruments - Nutrition - Occlusal sealants - Chemical plaque control

Prevention of malocclusion:
- Check spoiled habits
- Intercultural Therapy

Prevention of traumatic diseases
Oral health promotion experiences in community dentistry

It will therefore be proposed a deepening of the shape of the dental hygienist.
The dental hygienist: the birth and evolution of the profession, the professional profile. The dental team.
- Health Promotion: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary Prevention, Gender Prevention. The WHO objectives and the national and provincial prevention plan (Reads and Guidelines)
- Anatomy of the oral cavity (teeth and parodont): the tooth and its tissues, numbering, eruption phases. Deciduous and permanent dentition. The design of the teeth
- Anatomy of the parodontal (superficial and deep) and its tissues.
- Dental communication: motivational counseling and interview with the patient.

Bibliography

Examination Methods

Depending on the module in which the course is structured, the following exam methods are identified:

Learning Psychology:
The exam during an official appeal will consist of a written test (30 questions - 3 alternatives of response, only one correct, per question Time available: 30 minutes)

Psychology of evolutionary and clinical age
The exam consists of a written test divided into two parts: one of multiple choice answers questions and one of open questions.

Community dentists:
The exam consists of an oral interview

Educational method of oral hygiene:
The exam consists of a written test on open questions.