NBDHE Scientific Basis of Practice Questions and Answers

Question 1

A dental hygienist is developing a research question to investigate the effectiveness of a new power toothbrush in reducing gingivitis compared to a manual toothbrush.
Using the PICO format, which component does the manual toothbrush represent?

Accepted Answer

Comparison

Answer

Patient/Problem

Answer

Intervention

Answer

Outcome

Question 2

A research study concludes that a new mouthrinse leads to a statistically significant reduction in plaque scores (p < 0.05). However, the average reduction was only 0.1 on a 5-point plaque index scale. This finding is BEST described as having:

Accepted Answer

Low clinical significance despite being statistically significant.

Answer

High clinical significance but low statistical significance.

Answer

High clinical significance and high statistical significance.

Answer

Neither clinical nor statistical significance.

Question 3

Which of the following study designs is considered the highest level of evidence for determining the effectiveness of a therapeutic intervention in evidence-based dental hygiene practice?

Accepted Answer

Systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Answer

Case-control study

Answer

Cohort study

Answer

Expert opinion

Question 4

A dental hygienist is critically appraising a research article about a new diagnostic test for periodontal disease. The hygienist is evaluating if the researchers were blinded to the results of the 'gold standard' diagnostic method when interpreting the new test's results. This action is primarily aimed at assessing which type of bias?

Accepted Answer

Detection bias

Answer

Selection bias

Answer

Performance bias

Answer

Attrition bias

Question 5

In the field of dental epidemiology, which of the following BEST describes the primary goal of a cross-sectional study?

Accepted Answer

To determine the prevalence of a disease and its related factors at a single point in time.

Answer

To follow a group of individuals over time to determine the incidence of a disease.

Answer

To compare individuals with a disease to those without to identify past exposures.

Answer

To test the effectiveness of a new public health intervention within a community.

Question 6

A dental public health program aims to assess the oral hygiene status of an elementary school population by measuring the amount of plaque and calculus present. Which type of index would be most appropriate for this assessment?

Accepted Answer

Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S)

Answer

Gingival Index (GI)

Answer

Community Periodontal Index (CPI)

Answer

Dean's Fluorosis Index