• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.11-19
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• 2013

This study was conducted to prepare the fundamental data on establishing an improvement plan for oral health promotion program, and to assess the effects of prevention to dental caries by incremental oral health care program among students of elementary school. The number of total subjects were 239 students in the care group who were controled incremental oral health care program and 195 students in the control group who were not controled incremental oral health care program. The sealant index was significantly more higher in care group than control group, especially the higher the grade. The sealant rate was significantly higher in care group than control group for all of grade. The DT index was significantly lower in care group than control group for male and female, the caries incidence rate of permanent tooth by gender was lower in male than female. The FT rate was more higher in care group than control group. The dental caries could be prevented very effectively when having continuously treated the incremental oral health care program at school dental clinic among elementary-school students. The author consider that this study will be prepare the fundamental data and contribute to oral health promotion according to a change in oral health behavior among elementary-school students. Therefore, the author recommend to expand applying the incremental oral health care program among students of elementary school.

• Journal of Korean Dental Hygiene Science
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.79-89
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• 2023

Background and Objectives: The prevalence of dementia is steadily increasing each year, and preceding studies continue to explore the association between dementia and oral health. Dental hygienists require specialized competencies to provide appropriate dental healthcare services, necessitating the development of a tool for the objective measurement of their knowledge levels. This study aimed to develop a knowledge assessment tool for dental hygienists concerning considerations for dental care for patients with dementia. Methods: The study constructed preliminary items based on a literature review and then conducted expert validation, a pilot survey, and the main survey. The main survey was conducted among 220 dental hygienists. Validity and reliability analyses were conducted with the collected data to select the final items, and the correctness rates for each selected item were verified. Results: As a result of the analysis of the collected data, 18 items were eliminated out of a total of 40 preliminary items, leaving a total of 6 factors and 22 items. The Cronbach's α value for the selected items was 0.791. The six factors are as follows: 'Considerations during dental treatment for dementia patients' (5 items), 'medication side effects in dementia patients' (4 items), 'oral care methods for dementia patients' (4 items), 'communication with dementia patients' (4 items), 'psychological reactions of dementia patients' (3 items), and 'guidance for dementia patients' (2 items). The item with the highest correctness rate was item 2 of the 'guidance for dementia patients' category at 98.6%, while the item with the lowest correctness rate was item 2 of the 'psychological reactions of dementia patients' category at 5.9%. Conclusion: This study validated the reliability and validity of the knowledge assessment tool, which lays the foundation for future research on dental hygienists and dementia. It contributes essential data for ongoing education, development of educational programs, and establishing operational guidelines in healthcare institutions.