• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.217-226
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to find out differences in oral health status, defined as their oral health and oral health quality of life among the elderly depending on their income and education levels. Methods: This study used 922 senior citizens over 65 from the data (2015) of the 6th National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHNS). The regression analysis was adopted to identify factors affecting their oral health status which has effect on their oral health quality of life. The statistical package SPSS 21.0 was employed. Frequency analysis, chi-squared analysis and regression analysis were used, and the significance level or Cronbach's alpha value was 0.05. Results: Depending on income levels, there were differences in their oral health status as to whether they use oral hygiene products, take dental examinations, join private health-insurances, and delay dental treatments or not. And educational levels also made significant differences in their oral health status as to whether they smoke, drink alcohol, how many times they brush teeth a day, whether they use oral hygiene products, take dental treatments, and join private health-insurances. Regression analysis on the relationship between their oral health status and the oral health quality of life showed that there were significant differences depending on whether they take dental treatments, delay dental medical treatments, smoke, take oral examinations, how many times they brush teeth a day, and whether they use oral hygiene products, or join private health-insurances. Conclusions: The study shows that a comprehensive plan is needed to raise attention on proper oral health-care and ultimately to improve the quality of life by considering the daily number of tooth brushing, oral hygiene product use, regular dental treatments, and other medical uses.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.115-123
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• 2024

Background: The population of Gangneung City in South Korea has shown a gradual increase in the proportion of individuals aged 65 years and older, and the most frequently reported diseases for several years have consistently been periodontal diseases, including gingivitis and periodontitis. The regional imbalance in the distribution of dental personnel and resources has emerged as a problem of inequality in the use of dental care. It has been advocated to identify areas with disadvantages in dental care and develop public dental policies based on that. This study aimed to develop a customized oral healthcare program for local seniors based on a Public-Private-Academic Partnership, and to evaluate the oral health status of older adults in Gangneung City. Methods: The participants were residents aged 60 years and above in Gangneung City. A questionnaire including general information, systemic health status, and oral health status was administered to the participants. In addition, oral healthcare and education tailored to each individual's health status were provided once or twice based on their oral health status. The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25 for descriptive statistical analysis. Results: Among the older adults in Gangneung City, 75% had at least one prosthesis and exhibited symptoms of gingivitis or periodontitis. Additionally, the modified sulcus bleeding index decreased among participants who underwent the program twice. Over 90% of the participants expressed satisfaction with the program. Conclusion: The program appeared to contribute positively to the oral health promotion among local seniors. Further oral healthcare programs should focus on seniors in rural and old urban areas to reduce disparities in oral health across regions.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.208-220
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• 2024

Background: Although a direct association has been established between oral health management and maintaining military combat readiness and fulfilling defense duties, unmet dental-care needs have been consistently reported, and there has been little research on the role of mobile healthcare services in addressing this issue. This study explored the association between unmet dental-care needs and the intention to use mobile healthcare services among military personnel. Methods: This study was conducted on military personnel who visited a military hospital in Gyeonggi-do, Korea, from August 19 to August 31, 2024. A total of 150 self-administered questionnaires were distributed and 135 valid responses were analyzed. The analysis included general characteristics, dental care utilization, and intention to use mobile healthcare services. Statistical analyses, such as t-tests, ANOVA, and multiple regression, were employed to determine the factors influencing the intention to use mobile healthcare services. Results: This study found that military personnel with unmet dental-care needs had significantly higher intentions to use mobile healthcare services than those without such needs. The analysis revealed that the key factors influencing this intention were perceived health status and previous dental-care utilization. Specifically, participants who rated their overall health as better and those who had used dental care services in the past year showed a greater tendency to express interest in mobile healthcare services than those who did not. Furthermore, unmet dental-care needs were more prevalent among soldiers who reported limited access to dental facilities owing to time constraints or a lack of prioritization of oral health, which increased their inclination toward utilizing mobile healthcare solutions as an alternative. Conclusion: Mobile healthcare solutions can offer personalized and timely care as viable alternatives for improving oral health management in the military. Moreover, integrating mobile healthcare services into military health systems could significantly reduce unmet dental-care needs and enhance overall combat readiness by promoting better health outcomes.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.58 no.9
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• pp.536-545
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• 2020

In preparing for the era of Korean reunification, it is essential to consider the integration of medical systems and human resources. While Korean dental practitioners are expanding their activities in various fields both domestically and internationally, there are many restrictions on the activities for improving the health of North Korean people due to political and historical reasons even nowadays. In addition, there is little is known about the current state of dental health in North Korea. We analyzed the reports published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Public Health of North Korea prepared individually or in cooperation, and investigated the current status of the health care strategy applied to the dental field by conducting a full investigation of the 2018 『Rodong』newspaper. Based on the above, we tried to grasp the major health care strategies in North Korea and their application. Understanding the direction and status of North Korea's health care system would be an important cornerstone for international cooperation and practical activities to improve oral health care of North Koreans in the future. And there is a need that studies should be steadily conducted in various methods to overcome the heterogeneity of the two Koreas in the long-term perspective.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.103-112
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• 2017

Purpose : This study was conducted to improve cognitive oral healthcare care by analyzing the correlation between oral health behavior and oral health status Korean adolescents. The subjects were 65,528 youths in 798 schools monitored in the Twelfth Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey in 2016. Methods : The general characteristics consisted of 9 items including sex, grade, and academic performance. The academic performance and economic status were restructured into "upper, middle, lower". Subjective health perception and subjective oral health perception were reorganized as "health", "normal", "no health". The sub-areas of oral health behavior include five times of daily brushing during the day yesterday. The number of brushing times was "0", "1-2", "3", "more than 4" After lunch at school, brushing was restructured as "always," "sometimes," "not." The oral health status subscale consisted of 6 items including tooth breakage and toothache at the time of eating. Result : Tooth fracture(43.7 %), pain in mastication(43.7 %), tooth tingling(47.4 %), gum pain and bleeding(45 %), pain in buccal mucosa(43.8 %) and halitosis(46.6 %) were rare in adolescent having healthy oral health status cognitively(P<.001). Nosymptom adolescents without dental sealant showed low tooth fracture(0.64 times), pain in mastication(0.67 times), tooth tingling(0.59 times), gum pain and bleeding(0.84 times), pain in buccal mucosa(0.76 times), and halitosis(0.90 times). Nosymptom adolescents without scaling showed low tooth fracture(0.88 times), pain in mastication(1.03 times), tooth tingling(0.82 times), gum pain and bleeding(0.64 times), pain in buccal mucosa(0.70 times) and halitosis(0.82 times). Conclusion : This study revealed that oral health status is correlated with oral health behavior. Development of educational media and program, and aggressive promotion required to establish oral health Korean adolescent.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.432-441
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• 2016

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of professional oral healthcare program in eldery residents long-term care facilities. Ninety-four elderly residents from 5 different facilities in Asan participated in this study. The subjects were divided into 3 groups, with 32 in experimental group I, 30 in experimental group II, and 32 in the control group. Subjects in experimental group I were treated by a dental hygienist with professional oral healthcare and received daily oral care from caregivers who had completed elderly oral healthcare course. Subjects in experimental group II received daily oral care from caregivers who had completed elderly oral healthcare course. Control group received daily oral care from caregivers. These 3 groups were tested for dental plaque, halitosis, tongue coating, and salivary flow at baseline, and after 4 and 12 weeks of treatment. There were significant differences in the dental plaque index between the groups, mediate times, and mediate methods, in halitosis between the mediate methods, and in tongue coating between the mediate times, as well as the mediate methods. Finally, salivary flow was significantly different with regard to mediate methods between experimental group II and the control group. Therefore, to improve the oral health condition of elderly residents, involvement of a part-time dentist and scheduled professional oral healthcare are necessary. Furthermore, elderly oral healthcare education for nursing staff, including managers, should be provided.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.74-90
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• 2021

Background: It is getting important to improve the oral health status of the elderly because oral health status may affect their health status of the whole body. In this respect, we aimed to explore the association of oral health status and behavior factors with self-rated health status by sex. Methods: Using the data from the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for health surveys and oral examinations (2016-2018), we analyzed a total of 3,070 people aged 65 or older (men: 1,329; women: 1,741). Our dependent variable, self-rated health status, was divided into two groups: not good (bad and very bad) and good (very good, good, and fair), whereas our independent variables of interest were oral health status and behavior factors. In addition to descriptive analysis and the Rao-Scott chi-square test, reflecting survey characteristics, we conducted hierarchical multivariable logistic regression analyses adjusted for socio-demographics and health status and behavior factors. All analyses were stratified by sex. Results: The proportion of people having 'not good' self-rated health was 36.5% in women but 24.5% in men. In a model adjusted for all covariates, the self-rated health status showed significant association with the self-rated oral health status. For example, in men, the risk of having 'not good' self-rated health was high in people having 'poor' (odds ratio [OR], 5.31; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.34-12.03) self-rated oral health status and in those having 'fair' (OR, 4.03; 95% CI, 1.68-9.70) in comparison with those having 'good' self-rated oral health status. Dental status regarding speaking difficulty seemed to be very important in influencing self-rated health status. For instance, in women, compared to people having 'no discomfort' speaking difficulty, the risk of having 'not good' self-rated health was high in people having 'not bad' (OR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.14-2.24) and 'discomfort' (OR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.30-2.47) speaking difficulty. The covariates significantly associated with the risk of having 'not good' self-rated health were: physical activity, chronic disease, stress, and body mass index in both sexes; health insurance type and drinking only in men; and economic activity only in women. Conclusion: Oral health status and behavioral factors were associated with self-rated health status among the elderly, differently by sex. This suggests that public health policies toward better health in the elderly should take their oral health status and oral health behaviors into account in a sex-specific way.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.243-251
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• 2023

Objectives: Although a few studies have investigated the relationship between kidney and oral function (number of remaining teeth), their results remain inconclusive. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between kidney function and oral health in community-dwelling healthy elderlies and examine the factors associated with kidney function. Materials and Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the Shimane prefecture cohort recruited by the Center for Community-Based Health Research and Education in 2019. We collected clinical data on dental status, background factors and kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR], mL/min/1.73 m² and creatinine levels, mg/dL). Results: The study enrolled 481 participants, whose mean age was 66.7±7.4 years, and 223 (46.4%) participants were men. Multivariate analysis revealed significant correlations between eGFR (B=0.17, P=0.04), creatinine (B=-0.54, P<0.01), and the number of remaining teeth. The number of remaining teeth was associated with creatinine and eGFR, which are indicators of kidney function. Conclusion: This study suggests that preserving the teeth may prevent decline in kidney function. Dental professionals should provide instructions and professional care to reduce the risk of systemic diseases such as kidney dysfunction.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.457-467
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• 2020

Objectives: This study confirms the current status of visiting oral health-care services for the elderly to draw policy implications for revitalization of the visiting oral health care services in the future. Methods: First, a survey was conducted on health centers about the current status of the elderly visiting oral health-care service and how to revitalize it. Next, the number of oral hygiene services provided to the elderly was checked in the long-term care insurance system. Results: Oral health education (100%) was the most common practice in visiting oral health-care service for the elderly, and the most difficult thing in providing services was the lack of dental hygienists (38.9%). The status of oral health-care services in the long-term care insurance system for elderly revealed that the total number of service claims has been confirmed to be zero since the introduction of the system. Conclusions: Despite the existence of a system that provides elderly visiting oral healthcare services, to revitalize it, the law must be amended to secure a dental hygienist as the main agent of the activity and to further take responsibility for autonomous authority and performance.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.485-492
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• 2017

This study investigated the relevancy between the subjective awareness and the level of knowledge of oral health by surveying oral health management behaviors of elderly citizens over 60 years old in certain areas. The survey was conducted from September 1 to December 30, 2016 among the elderly aged 60 or older in the GyeongBuk, and 442 responses were used in the data analysis. The statistical analysis methods were frequency analysis, t-test and ANOVA analysis. The subjective oral health awareness in accordance with oral health management behaviors were higher in the groups who brush their teeth better and for longer duration (p<.05), where the oral health knowledge level in accordance with oral health management behaviors were higher in the groups who received toothbrushing training (p<.05). Based on the above results, the subjective oral health awareness and the oral health knowledge level of elderly citizens should be improved through continuous educations for ideal oral health management behaviors in order to promote oral health of elderly citizens.