Comparison of Oral Health Promotion and Dementia Prevention Behavior according to the Perception Level on the Relationship between Them

Background: The incidence of dementia in Korea is a serious social problem, as the number of patients with dementia is increasing with a decrease in the age of dementia onset dementia is associated with oral disease among various causes, but there is very low awareness of the relationship between dementia and oral health. Therefore, in view of the above, we aimed to check oral health promotion and dementia prevention behaviors and use them as basic data for preventing dementia. Methods: In this study, we conducted a month-long survey of people aged 40 years and above living in South Korea, and reclaimed 140 survey questionnaires. Frequency analysis was performed for the perception level of the relationship between dementia and oral health, and the demographic characteristics assessed according to the perception level. Independent t-tests were performed for the mean comparison between oral health promotion and dementia prevention behaviors. Correlation analysis was performed for the relationship between the three variables (oral health promotion and dementia prevention behaviors, the perception level of the relationship between them). Results: The results showed that groups with a high level of awareness of the relationship between dementia and oral health were more likely to develop oral health promotion and dementia prevention behaviors (p<0.01). In addition, the higher the level of awareness related to dementia and oral health, the greater the likelihood of oral health and dementia prevention behaviors (p<0.01). Conclusion: Therefore, we should try to improve dementia prevention and oral health promotion by providing accurate knowledge and awareness of the relevance between dementia and oral health.