Abstract
This study was conducted to confirm the recognition of elderly-friendly foods and the need for education of clinical dental hygienists in preparation for the elderly patients. The online survey was conducted on 160 clinical dental hygienists in Korea. The survey items included the general characteristic, the status of oral health education for elderly patients, recognition and the need for education on elderly-friendly foods. The level of recognition of elderly-friendly foods was very low at 8.3%. 83.3% of the respondents thought it was necessary to educate dental hygienists on elderly-friendly foods. Recognition of elderly-friendly foods of clinical dental hygienists was low, but intention of education was high. Considering that the elderly-friendly food certification system is in the process of being implemented in Korea, it is necessary to provide clinical dental hygienists with the latest information that they can use to provide oral health education to elderly patients.
