• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.574-585
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• 2023

Sarcopenia is a leading cause of increased medical and nursing care costs among the elderly. In Korea, preventive measures for sarcopenia are mostly targeted toward the general elderly population without specific diseases. However, it is also necessary to implement measures for elderly individuals living in nursing homes and hospitals, where the prevalence of sarcopenia is high. Currently, computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging are considered standard diagnostic tools. However, their complexity and time-consuming nature make them unsuitable for clinical use. The exact pathophysiological mechanisms of sarcopenia are unclear, as they involve various molecular biological pathways, including decreased exercise, protein and nutrient intake, changes in testosterone and growth hormone, and inflammation. Sarcopenia symptoms can lead to several diseases, such as osteoporosis, fractures, dementia, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Vitamin B deficiency is a significant factor in sarcopenia induction, with B vitamins being directly involved in energy and protein metabolism and nerve function. Vitamin B deficiency can lead to neuromuscular and neurogenic disorders, which often overlap with sarcopenia. Suboptimal intake of B vitamins, malabsorption, and anorexia are common among the elderly. This study aims to provide information on the role of water-soluble B vitamins in preventing and controlling muscle mass loss and deterioration among the elderly with sarcopenia. In addition, we discuss the potential of myokines from the B vitamin family in modulating sarcopenia.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.39-44
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to cover dental hygienists who work for metropolitan dental hospitals or clinics in Seoul city, Incheon city and Gyeonggi province from January to April 2009 and profile their awareness of Long-term Senior Care Insurance System (hereinafter called 'LSCI (System)', so that it may provide material reference data to contribute to expanding and establishing oral health medical services in the framework of LSCI System. As a result, this study could come to the following conclusions: 1. It was found that the highest priority of dental hygienists' visiting oral hygienic services under LSCI System was focused on 'caring and preventive treatment', and their secondary priority was focused upon 'oral health education.' 2. In response to a question item about whether dental hygienists need dentist's prescription in written before performing their visiting oral hygienic services, it was found that 38.2% dental hygienists answered 'Yes (necessary)' and 61.8% answered 'No (unnecessary).' 3. In response to a question item about whether dental hygienists may open up long-term senior care center, it was found that absolute majority of dental hygienists (93.4%) answered 'No' and only 6.6% dental hygienists answered 'Yes.' The standardized professional education are thought to be needed to be developed aiming at the success in oral-hygiene service within a LSCI, by strengthening professionalism in dental hygienists.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.161-166
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• 2007

Relationship of Dental Health Assessment to the Number of Existing Permanent Tooth in Senior Citizens visited a dental hospital or clinic from Some Regions. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of the dental health assessment of elderly people who were at the age of 65 and up to the number of existing permanent tooth in an effort to lay the groundwork for pinpointing problems with their oral status and developing programs geared toward improving their dental health and quality of life. The findings of the study were as follows: 1. Regarding self-perceived dental health, the largest group of the senior citizens that accounted for 57.9 percent didn't find themselves to be in good dental health. The second largest group that represented 32.5 percent thought their dental health was at an ordinary level, and the third greatest number of them that stood at 9.5 percent considered themselves to be in good dental health. Their self-perceived dental health status was statistically significantly different according to education and monthly income, and whether they had a job or not made a statistically significant difference to that as well(p < .01, p < .001). 2. In terms of taste appreciation, 58.7 percent, the largest group, didn't appreciate one or two kinds of taste, and their taste appreciation was statistically significantly different according to education and monthly income(p < .05, p < .01). 3. As for chewing ability, 20.6 percent were able to chew well. In regard to digestion, 69.0 percent had an ordinary level of digestive power. 4. Concerning the number of existing permanent tooth, 38.9 percent, the greatest percentage, had ten or less permanent teeth. By education, the possession of 21or more permanent teeth(40.0%) was most common among those who received high-school or higher education. The greatest group of the senior citizens with a job had 11 to 20 permanent teeth(41.7%), and the largest number of the elderly people whose monthly income was 500 thousand won or more were in possession of 11 to 20 permanent teeth(41.7%). The number of existing permanent tooth statistically significantly differed with their general characteristics(p < .01). 5. As to connections between dental health and the number of existing permanent tooth, 21 permanent teeth or more were owned by those who were in good dental health, who appreciated different tastes and whose chewing ability was good. So there was a statistically significant relationship between the two.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.60-66
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of predisposing, enabling, need factors and oral health care factors to the dental utilization in 4,521 senior citizens based on the 5th National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data. As for the relationship of predisposing, enabling and need factors to the necessity of denture, higher academic credential and higher income level that were respectively one of predisposing and need factors led to a higher necessity of denture, and the relationship of these factors was statistically significant. As to influential factors for their dental utilization in Model 1, there were significant differences according to gender, marital status and whether to subscribe to private health insurance or not. In Model 2, the need factors of Model 1 were adjusted. As a result, the respondents who didn't receive any unsatisfactory dental treatment made 1.35-fold more dental utilization, and the respondents who complained about mastication difficulty made 1.34-fold more dental utilization. There were significant differences according to gender, age, marital status, academic credential, whether to subscribe to private health insurance, unsatisfactory dental treatment experience and mastication difficulty. Age, unsatisfactory dental treatment experience and whether to complain about mastication difficulty or not made statistically significant differences to the dental utilization in Model 3 that involved oral health status. The above-mentioned findings illustrated that the predisposing factors, the enabling factors and the need factors exerted an influence on the elderly dental utilization. As there are a variety of factors to affect elderly dental utilization, its required to make an effort to boost the accessibility of the elderly to dental service in order to improve their oral health of the elderly.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.375-380
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to help improve oral health care planning for the elderly in an effort to promote the oral health of elderly people in preparation for aging society. The subjects in this study were 200 elderly people who were selected by random sampling from senior centers in Seoul. An interview was conducted to gather data from June to September 2008, and the data collected were analyzed.: 1. The mean number of residual tooth was 13.71. 2. Concerning connections between gender and subjective oral symptoms, gender had a statistically significant relationship to temporomandibular joint dysfunction(p=0.000), dry mouth(p=0.001) and halitosis(p=0.006). The men underwent more oral symptoms than the women. 3. As for the relationship of mastication(p=0.000), oral pain(p=0.010), temporomandibular joint dysfunction(p=0.010) and dry mouth(p=0.001) to subjective oral health state, the elderly people who were not in a good oral health suffered more oral symptoms, and the gap between them and the others was statistically significant. 4. A larger number of tooth led to less mastication difficulties, less dry mouth and more gingival diseases, and the relationship between the factors was statistically significant. A better oral health state led to less mastication difficulties, less oral pain, less dry mouth and less bad breath, and the relationship between the factors was statistically significant. Through this study the oral health the elderly people perceive wss concerned with oral symptom, and the number of residual teeth also had links to subjective oral symptoms. Therefore, to maintain original teeth of the elderly people, the management system of oral health and the education program for oral health in order to prevent disease relateded with oral and enhance the perception standard of oral state are indispensably necessary to the elderly people.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.309-311
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• 2006

In order to development of new denture cleaners using natural antimicrobial agents, we have investigated various species of medicinal plants for the antimicrobial activity against Streptococcus matans and Candida albicans. Citrus extract showed significant antifungal activities in a dose-dependent manner against Candida albicans. Candidasis is also a common problem affecting older adults using full denture. We also developed liquid type denture cleaner formulation using citrus extracts.

• Journal of Korean Dental Hygiene Science
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.53-64
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• 2021

Background: The elderly in long-term care facilities tend to have a diminished oral health status, with a high prevalence of dental caries and periodontal disease, as reduced cognitive function, joint mobility, and gait ability hinder the performance of oral hygiene. To improve the oral health of the elderly at long-term care facilities, it is necessary to have precise guidelines for oral health care and assessment; however, such guidelines are not readily available. Therefore, the present study aimed to develop an oral care assessment tool with verified reliability and validity. Methods: The participants in this study were 100 elderly patients at a care facilities and 10 clinical dental hygienists. Collected data were analyzed using the descriptive statistics, content validity index, and inter-rater reliability, as well as the analyses of intra-class correlation coefficient. Results: After a review of relevant literature, a preliminary questionnaire comprised of seven questions related to the evaluation of oral health was formed. After revising and supplementing the questions through a content validity test, a total of nine questions were selected. Conclusion: The novel assessment tool developed for the present study is anticipated to allow analyses of the level of problems related to oral health care before routine and professional care. Moreover, regular oral health status check-ups will enable the early diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

• Journal of Korean Dental Hygiene Science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.45-52
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• 2022

Background: This study was aimed at obtaining basic data necessary to develop alternatives to improve the oral health-related quality of life of the elderly by investigating dry mouth and oral health-related quality of life of patients visiting the N Dental Clinic in Jeollanam-do. Methods: From November 2021 to September 2022, data were collected using a self-report survey of adults aged 50 years or older. Of the 300 questionnaires collected, 280 had insufficient data because of missing entries. Results: Analyzing the satisfaction level of oral health-related quality of life according to the participants' medical use and subjective oral health recognition, "what do you think your oral health is like" showed significant differences (p< 0.001). Dry mouth and satisfaction were positively correlated with the oral health-related quality of life (β=0.42, p= 0.00). Factors affecting the quality of life related to oral health were "total score of oral dryness" (β= 0.395) and "what do you think your oral health is like" (β=0.224). Conclusion: The results of this study suggested that systematic intervention, such as oral health programs, suitable for age may improve the oral health-related quality of life.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.333-341
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• 2023

Objectives: This study aims to propose a standard protocol for oral health care intervention activities by dental hygienists. Methods: A narrative literature review of home visit oral health care intervention activities reported in Cheonan, South Korea was conducted to enable the proposal of a standard home visit protocol for dental hygienists in the context of community care. Results: Oral health management intervention activities contributed to improving the quality of life, as well as the oral health, of older adults living at home. This was a result of applying a protocol consisting of oral observation, oral massage, expert oral hygiene management, oral muscle function training, and final stages. Conclusions: The visiting oral health intervention protocol was effective in resolving oral health problems of older adults. In the future, customized programs and reimbursement systems should be developed to promote oral health care for older adults that can be provided at home.

• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.53-63
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• 2014

Growing of number of elderly populations, which may be caused by improved quality of life and decreased the percentage of mortality. Although there is a declining rate of the edentulous patients, more patients are advancing into older age groups, and the substantial number of edentulous patients are increasing. For these edentulous patients, complete denture cannot substitute natural teeth, but it is a staple prosthetic treatment. Generally, the success of dentures has been evaluated on the basis of whether or not patients comfortable and were able to masticate with their dentures. Acceptance of complete denture is complex for patients and related to psychological factors of patients, physical state, and the technical quality of dentures. In addition to that, many factors influence to satisfaction of patients to the complete dentures. In this review article, evaluate various factors related on satisfaction of denture wearers and methods of evaluate satisfaction.