California Dental Hygienists' Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Regarding Herbal and Dietary Supplements (Research) (Survey‪)‬

Introduction The use of herbs and other natural products has been part of human culture for thousands of years, and people continue to use them to treat illness or improve health and well-being. Besides prayer, herbal and dietary supplements (HDS) are the most widely used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies in the U.S. (1) Many Americans regularly use HDS on a daily or weekly basis. It is estimated that more than half of the adult population in the U.S. (nearly 114 million) consume dietary supplements. (2) The term dietary supplement includes herbs and botanicals as well as vitamins, minerals and other nutritional supplements. The federal government defines a dietary supplement as "a product (other than tobacco) that is intended to supplement the diet that bears or contains one or more of the following dietary ingredients: a vitamin, a mineral, an herb or other botanical, an amino acid, a dietary substance for use by man to supplement the diet by increasing the total daily intake, or a concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract or combinations of these ingredients." (3)