Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the oral health promotion of the disabled persons by voluntary dental services in Ulsan Metropolitan City. Two dentists taken a calibration training for national oral health survey examined the oral health status of 473 disabled persons from two special schools for the disabled children and adolescents, a residential facility and a gymnasium for the disabled persons in 2009-2010. The surveyed disabled persons in the age range was from 7 to 74 years old. Voluntary dentists, oral hygienists and other civilian volunteers had supplied with the oral health care services to the disabled persons at dental clinics of special schools for the disabled children and adolescents, and a dental clinic supported from Nam-Gu Public Health Center in Ulsan Metropolitan City since 1997. The obtained data from these surveys were analyzed with the SPSS statistical package. Among subjects aged 12-14 years, subjects with decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) in permanent dentition was 46.9%; subjects with untreated decayed teeth, 17.2%. The number of decayed, missing and filled teeth in permanent dentition was 1.36. The proportion of decayed components of DMFT score was 28.00%; proportion of missing components of DMFT score, 1.43%; proportion of filled components of DMFT score, 70.57%. The proportion of filled components of DMFT score among disabled persons of all age group in Ulsan were evaluated to be a similar level to non-disabled citizens in Ulsan from 2010 Korean National Survey. The oral health care programs for disabled persons by voluntary services of dental professionals and other civilians are evaluated to be effective for the oral health promotion of disabled persons in Ulsan.