• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.225-234
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• 2011

Tobacco smoking is a major risk factor of systemic health and also impairs oral health, which is related to development of oral cancers, periodontitis, delayed wound healing, tooth loss, failure of implant, etc. Aside from smoking, many other risk factors can be related to oral health and long-term effects of smoking on salivary flow and taste threshold are still in controversy. Authors considered dental students to be an appropriate group with good oral hygiene for a long-term study to reveal effects of smoking on oral health. This study was performed to compare smoking patterns and current oral health conditions between smokers and nonsmokers in dental students prior to long-term evaluation. 192 volunteers (85.7%) of 224 male dental students in Dankook University were evaluated through questionnaires and clinical examination in 2010. Questionnaires included smoking pattern, alcohol use, nicotine dependence, preventive care, psychological profile and clinical examinations comprised assessment of teeth or periodontal status, nicotine pigmentation, salivary flow, electrical taste thresholds and halitosis. From the study, (current) smokers were older, and drank more frequently with more alcohol intake compared to former smokers and nonsmokers(p<0.05). There was no significant difference among them in salivary flow rate, halitosis and electrical taste threshold. However, there was significant difference in DMFT rate, periodontal treatment need, nicotinic pigmentation between smokers and nonsmokers(p<0.05), irrespective of their levels of preventive care. The smokers in this study, who are young dental students with relatively shorter duration of smoking, less use of cigarettes and low level of nicotine dependence, did not reveal significant impairment of oral health. However, their oral health was found to be relatively impaired compared to nonsmokers', which suggests negative effect of smoking on the oral health and a need of smoking cessation.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.15-26
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• 2008

Purpose : To investigate the actual conditions of diagnosis and treatment of oral medicine inpatient with systemic disease. Methods : A total of 110 subjects, inpatient due to systemic disease for diagnosis and treatment of oral disease was requested to answer the medical history and dental treatment record. Results : Systemic disease is composed of Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus 26%, Cerebral infarction 25.2%, Intracerebral hemorrhage, Polyarthrosis, Coxarthrosis 4.7%, Nerve root and plexus disorders, Hypertensive heart and renal diseases, Ankylosing spondylitis 2.4%. Chief complain of oral disease is composed of toothache 28.6%, routine check 23%, tooth mobility 8.7%, hypersensitivity 7.1%, periodontal bleeding 6.4%. Oral disease is composed of Gingivitis and periodontal diseases 28.9%, Dental caries 17.1%, Diseases of pulp and periapical tissues 15.1%, Diseases of salivary glands 10.5%, Other diseases of hard tissues of teeth 8.6%, Within Normal Limit 5.3%. Treatment of oral disease is composed of periodontal treatment 17.95%, rejection of treatment 16.67%, medication for halitosis & dry mouth 13.46%, extraction 12.18%, prosthetic treatment 8.97%. Chief complain in oral medicine is composed of oral soft tissue problem 6.4%, craniomandibular disorders 5.6%, halitosis 4%, total 16%. Conclusion : These findings indicate that inpatient due to the systemic disease is significantly correlated to the oral disease. The patients of oral disease interrelationship between inpatient and outpatient of systemic disease should be validated by future research.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.105-111
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• 2007

Correlation between occlusal contact pattern and TMD have been hypothesized and partially investigated but results are controversial and not conclusive. The purposes of this study were to compare right-to-left difference of occlusal contact pattern, through contact points, contact force and occlusal balance, in the patients with unilateral TMD and also to evaluate its change related with TMD treatment. 36 patients with unilateral TMD from Department of Oral Medicine in Dankook University Dental Hospital were selected in this study (M:F=7:29, mean age of $29.2{\pm}14.8$ years). A computerized T-Scan II system (Tekscan, INC., USA) was employed for occlusal analysis and the simultaneity and occlusal balance through the number of tooth contact and magnitude of contact force were determined before and after TMD treatment. The number of contact points and contact force was more on the unaffected side than the affected side before treatment (p=0.056 and p=0.060, respectively) while significant difference between both sides was not found after treatment. The number of contact points and contact force on the affected sides significantly increased after treatment (p=0.038 and p=0.052), but the unaffected sides exhibited no significant difference between before and after treatment. In addition, sides difference in relative contact force decreased from about 27% to about 12% after TMD treatment (p=0.001). According to the results of this study, it is likely that unilateral TMD impairs right-to-left occlusal balance and that conservative TMD treatment alleviates the imbalance, subsequently leading to more symmetrical occlusal condition with increased contact points and force.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.117-126
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• 2004

For a month of September, 2004, a questionnaire regarding dental hygiene was distributed to 165 workers of Ulsan area. A total of 125 questionnaire were analyzed: 102 collected of the distributed 165 pieces, and 23 questionnaires reported by patients of a dental clinic in Dong-gu, Woolsan. The result is as follows; (1) Labor workers of Ulsan have thought that they are in good dental health, 44.1% of respondents, following by those who they believe they are in moderate health and those who they think are in poor condition. 89.0% of total workers have experienced dental treatment. (2) Regarding the location of dental treatment, 85.0% of respondents have pointed out dental hospitals and clinics, while 3.9% have indicated that they had treatment from unlicensed dentists. Specifically, workers in their 40s over have ever experienced dental treatment by unlicensed dentists. Those who think they are in poor dental condition have tended to have more dental treatment by unlicensed dentists. (3) Regarding the reason that they put off the treatment, 59.1% of respondents have indicated that they have no time to have the treatment, following by economic burden and the lack of confidence in dentists. When they have tooth aches or the gum ache, 60% of respondents have suggested that they endure the ache or take a medicine to alleviate the pain, showing a lower understanding of early dental treatment. (4) Regarding the reason why they are unwilling to go to dentists, respondents have revealed the anxiety against pain, 50.4%, following by the difficulty of scheduling and unsatisfied services. (5) 47.2% of respondents have brushed their teeth 3 times everyday, following by those who have done it 2 times a day and those one a day. Regarding how to brush the teeth, most of respondents have brushed their teeth in the upper, lower, and the both side, 61.4%. The younger respondents and those who think they are in good dental health have tended to brush their teeth up and down. (6) Regarding the cause of the gum disease, 67.7% of respondents have thought that it is caused by poor dental hygiene, following by natural occurrence due to age, hereditary nature, and physical predisposition. (7) 67.7% of respondents have experienced dental scaling, while 32.3% of them have had no experience in it. 53.5% of workers have thought that scaling may not be recommended since they have the teeth scaled periodically once they had dental scaling, a higher rate than 46.5% who think scaling is good for the gum health.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.283-296
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• 2006

Along with the development of scientific technologies, health care has been growing remarkably, and as the social life quality improves with increasing interest in health, the demand for medical service is rapidly increasing. However, medical accident and medical dispute also are rapidly increasing due to various factors such as, increasing sense of people's right, lack of understanding in the nature of medical practice, over expectation on medical technique, commercialize medical supply system, moral degeneracy and unawareness of medical jurisprudence by doctors, widespread trend of mutual distrust, and lack of systematized device for solution of medical dispute. This study analysed 30 cases of civil suit in the year between 1994 to 2004, which were selected among the medical dispute cases in dental field with the judgement collected from organizations related to dentistry and department of oral medicine, Yonsei university dental hospital. The following results were drawn from the analyses: 1. The distribution of year showed rapid increase of medical dispute after the year 2000. 2. In the types of medical dispute, suit associated with tooth extraction took 36.7% of all. 3. As for the cause of medical dispute, uncomfortable feeling and dissatisfaction with the treatment showed 36.7%, death and permanent damage showed 16.7% each. 4. Winning the suit, compulsory mediation and recommendation for settlement took 60.0% of judgement result for the plaintiff. 5. For the type of medical organization in relation to medical dispute, 60.0% was found to be the private dental clinics, and 30.0% was university dental hospitals. 6. For the level of trial, dispute that progressed above 2 or 3 trials was of 30.0%. 7. For the amount of claim for damage, the claim amounting between 50 million to 100 million won was of 36.7%, and that of more than 100 million won was 13.3%, and in case of the judgement amount, the amount ranging from 10 million to 30 million won was of 40.0%, and that of more than 100 million won was of 6.7%. 8. For the number of dentist involved in the suit, 26.7% was of 2 or more dentists. 9. For the amount of time spent until the judgement, 46.7% took 11 to 20 months, and 36.7% took 21 to 30 months. 10. For medical malpractice, 46.7% was judged to be guilty, and 70% of the cases had undergone medical judgement or verification of the case by specialists during the process of the suit. 11. In the lost cases of doctors(18 cases), 72.2% was due to violence of carefulness in practice and 16.7% was due to missing of explanation to patient. Medical disputes occurring in the field of dentistry are usually of relatively less risky cases. Hence, the importance of explanation to patient is emphasized, and since the levels of patient satisfaction are subjective, improvement of the relationship between the patient and the dentist and recovery of autonomy within the group dentist are essential in addition to the reduction of technical malpractice. Moreover, management measure against the medical dispute should be set up through complement of the current doctors and hospitals medical malpractice insurance which is being conducted irrationally, and establishment of system in which education as well as consultation for medical disputes lead by the group of dental clinicians and academic scholars are accessible.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.399-407
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• 1999

Apical extrusion of canal debris is occurred inadvertently during root canal preparation and this could produce interappointment discomfort or postinstrumentation pain. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of canal preparation methods on the apical extrusion of canal debris by means of comparing the amounts of apically extruded debris with several kinds of instrumentation methods. In the first experiment, 40 incisors were divided into four groups of 10 each. They were instrumented using one of the four techniques: Step-back, crown-down pressureless technique with stainless steel K-files, engine-driven instrumentation with Quantec series 2000, and Profile .04 taper series 29. Root canal irrigation was done with 2.52% sodium hypochlorite solution. In the second experiment, 80 incisors were divided into five groups of 16 each and instrumented using step-back, crown-down pressureless technique with stainless steel K-files, engine-driven instrumentation such as Quantec SC, Quantec LX, and Profile .04 taper series 29 No irrigation procedure was performed in this second experiment. Extruded debris from each tooth was collected in a container and weighed by the use of an electronic balance after desiccation. With or without canal irrigation, step-back technique produced significantly more amount of apical debris than the other groups (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference among crown-down pressureless technique, engine-driven instrumentation with Quantec LX, Quantec SC, or Profile. Therefore, either by hand or engine-driven instrumentation, it is concluded that to minimize apical debris, techniques using reaming motion of files should be applied rather than filing motion.