• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.355-360
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to examine unmet dental care needs and related factors among adults in Korea. The study included a nationally representative sample of Koreans (Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2104). The dependent variable was unmet dental care need and the independent variables were socioeconomic status and oral health status. The chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were performed to identify the associations between explanatory variables and unmet dental care needs. The major causes of unmet dental care needs included economic burden, work life, and academic reasons; in addition, dental treatment was considered to have lower priority. The factors that had statistically significant relationships with unmet dental care needs were sex, age, self-rated oral health status, and difficulty in mastication. The findings of the study, suggest a need for lower dental insurance copayments in keeping with the policies and principles aimed at strengthening the national health insurance system. In addition, groups with limited access to dental services should be identified, and effective health care policies and services should be established for these individuals.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.91-97
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to examine any possible differences among adolescents in unmet dental care needs according to their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and oral health status and influential factors on the basis of the fifth national health and nutrition examination survey data. The findings of the study were as follows: Unmet dental care needs were accounted for 19.84 percent. As for the reason, many replied that they couldn't afford to leave school during school hours, and economic factors. As a result of analyzing what affected their unmet dental care needs, this experience was more common in the older age groups than in the 6~12 years age group, and the experience was less common in the respondents with a larger income. As for the subjective oral health status, the experience was 0.61-fold and 0.72-fold less in the respondents who perceived their health as fair or good than who thought their health was poor respectively. And there was a tendency that getting regular dental checkups led to 0.22-fold less experience. Given the above-mentioned findings, the kind of policy that makes dental care services more accessible to youth in consideration of socioeconomic circumstances should be carried out. As many of the adolescents couldn't leave school during school hours, schools should be equipped with dental clinics to improve accessibility to dental care services.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.306-313
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• 2019

This study endeavors to provide basic data for healthcare policy development by identifying factors that influence the unmet healthcare needs of the elderly with chronic diseases. The study utilized data from the 2017 Korean National Survey on the Elderly, and analyzed 9,117 elders afflicted with more than 1 chronic disease. We determined that 851 (9.3%) elders experienced unmet healthcare needs from hospital & clinical treatment, and 1,469 (16.1%) elders experienced unmet dental treatment. 'Economic difficulty' was the most common reason expressed by 425 (49.9%) elders for unmet healthcare needs from hospital and clinical treatment, and by 1,066 (72.6%) elders for dental treatment. Furthermore, unmet healthcare needs in hospital and clinical treatment were affected by various factors, including spouse, education, self-rated health status and exercise, whereas unmet healthcare needs in dental treatment were affected by factors such as spouse, education, medical aids, self-rated health status, smoking, and exercise. Based on the research results achieved, we propose a necessity to establish healthcare policies that consider the influencing factors, and help resolve the unmet healthcare needs of the elderly with chronic diseases.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.7501-7507
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• 2015

This study analyzed the rate of unmet dental care service for the disabled who were judged to require the dentistry due to oral health-related problems and those reasons, and also examined the oral health status according to the unmet dentistry. 375 subjects, who were 19 years or older and completed oral health examination and a survey, among 444 responded positive of disability registration after participation in National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey(NHANES), were analyzed. Disability type was classified into 6 kinds(physical disability, brain lesions, sensory defect, developmental disability, mental disorder, endocrine disorder). Participants had 128 of their dental care needs unmet when it was required. 'Financial burden' was the main reason, with the subject of 49.2%, followed by 'lower on the priority scale' were 18.0%. The high frequency and progression permanent teeth caries experiencs and periodontal status of their dental disease were confirmed. In availability aspect of dentistry resources, it is required for using dentistry service smoothly through providing sufficient proper dental care service comparing with the number of the disabled.

• 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 Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.245-250
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• 2023

Objectives: This study was conducted to analyze the factors related to unmet dental care needs in Korean adults who needed dental treatment. Methods: This study analyzed data from the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016-2018). Among the adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2,723 dental treatment who performed oral examinations were the final subjects. General characteristics and oral health characteristics were analyzed with complex sample chi-square test using the IBM SPSS program. Factors related to unmet dental care were analyzed by multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: As for unmet dental care needs related factors, bad oral health was 3.383 times higher, and usually was 1.736 times higher. In the use of dental clinic unmet dental care needs was 0.121 times lower. Unmet dental care needs was high, 1.366 times for those with the experience of tooth pain and 2.736 times for those with chewing difficulty. Conclusions: Based on the above results, it can be seen that oral health status or oral discomfort is related to unmet dental care needs. It is necessary to set goals to improve unmet dental care, recognize that one's oral health condition is very important, and continuously educate about oral health for each life cycle.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.289-295
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• 2022

Objectives: In this study, raw data from the 7th (2016-2018) of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used, and a total of 2,430 people were selected as participants to analyze the factors related to unmet dental care needs in postmenopausal women. Methods: Frequency analysis, cross analysis, and logistic regression analysis were performed for general characteristics, oral health characteristics, and unmet dental care needs related factors using IBM SPSS Statistics 21.0 program. Results: The unmet dental care related factors were 1.527 times higher in the case of not having oral examinations than in the case of having oral examinations. For those who did not make use of the dental clinic, 8.667 times, 2.913 times for bad oral health, and 1.912 times for usually showed that unmet dental care was higher. Inconvenience with speaking was 1.578 times higher, and in the absence of implants, unmet dental care needs was 1.510 times higher. In the case of no chewing difficulty, was 0.380 times lower. Conclusions: Based on the above results, in order to achieve the policy goal to reduce unmet dental care needs, policy support and interest are needed above all to accurately identify and solve specific problems.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.809-817
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• 2020

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the relationship between socioeconomic factors and the unmet dental care needs of the living alone and living with family elderly groups to confirm the differences in their influence. Methods: Data from the Korea Health Panel Study of 2016 were used to analyze a total of 4,987 individuals: 4,008 in living with family group and 979 in living alone group. Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS Version 22 (p<0.05). Results: We observed that 16.5% and 28.3% of the participants from the living with family and living alone groups had unmet dental care needs, respectively, indicating that the living alone group had more unmet dental care needs. Income level, residential area, and healthcare security were significant factors related to the living with family group. In contrast, medical aid for healthcare security was a significant factor related to the living alone group (p<0.05). Conclusions: The results confirmed that socioeconomic factors that affect unmet dental care vary according to the living situation. Therefore, the government should identify the number of elderly individuals living alone, which is increasing annually. These individuals are vulnerable in almost all aspects, and the government should establish and implement appropriate oral healthcare policies to support them.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.117-124
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• 2022

Objectives: It is crucial to detect and prevent oral problems early. Older adults, in particular, should go for regular dental checkups to maintain a healthy oral environment. This study identified the factors affecting regular dental examinations and unmet dental needs in older adults. Methods: This study analyzed 3,362 older adults aged 65 or over using the data from the 7th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Frequency analysis was performed on general characteristics. In addition, chi-square tests were done to determine differences in regular dental checkups and unmet dental needs according to general characteristics. Logistic regression analysis was performed on factors influencing regular dental checkups and unmet dental needs. Results: Factors influencing regular dental checkups were statistically significant according to residential areas, level of education, household income, and levels of physical activity (p<0.05). Factors influencing unmet dental needs were statistically significant according to residential areas, level of education, private medical insurance, and levels of dental pain (p<0.05). Conclusions: National level policy strategies should be implemented to improve the oral health of older adults. These strategies should encourage regular dental checkups to effectively lower the rate of unmet dental needs.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.125-132
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• 2023

Objectives: This study used the 2018 Korea Health Panel Survey data to analyze factors affecting employment status and income relating to unmet dental and medical care needs. Additionally it investigated measures to reduce oral health inequality among various socioeconomic classes. Methods: Descriptive statistics for the subjects' unmet dental and medical care needs were calculated through chi-square test analysis, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to identify factors affecting the unmet dental and medical care needs. The odds ratio and 95% confidence interval were calculated for each level. These data were analyzed using STATA 17.0 SE (64-bit) version, and the statistical significance level was set to p<0.05. Results: As a result of unmet dental and medical care needs according to general characteristics, the lower the education level (p<0.001), the higher the age (p<0.001) and the lower the household equalization income (p<0.024) and the smoker status (p<0.003) were, respectively. Factors that have a statistically significant impact on unmet dental and medical care needs were divorce, separation and bereavement (p<0.001) in individuals than in married persons, and being smokers than non-smokers (p<0.009). The frequency of unmet dental and medical care needs were found to be lower in the cases of a high school graduate than an elementary school graduate (p<0.018), and of higher household equalization income (p<0.001) than the lowest household equalization income, respectively. Conclusions: It was found that various factors such as age, education level, household equalization income, employment status, type of working hours type, and smoking status affect unmet dental and medical care needs.