• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.767-774
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• 2016

Objective: The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors affecting unmet dental care needs of Korean using 6th Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination survey(KNHANES). Methods: The subjects were 13,718 Koreans from the 6th KNHANES data. The questionnaire consisted of general characteristics of the subjects, reason for dental care needs by socio-economic status and unmet dental care needs. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21.0 program. Results: The proportion of unmet dental care needs accounted for 27.4% and the main reasons were financial burden and less priority. Male had 0.21 times less unmet dental needs than female. Low, mid low, and mid high economic income groups had 1.27, 1.24, and 1.08 times respectively more unmet dental care needs than high income group. Those having good and average self-perceived oral health status experienced 0.83 and 0.63 times less dental care needs. Conclusions: Socio-economic factors and health status were the important factors of unmet dental care needs and it is necessary to provide a variety of public service of dental care for the low income group.

• 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 Academy of Oral Health
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.152-158
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate effective predictive factors of the persistence of unmet dental care needs. Methods: Data were obtained from the Korea Health Panel studies of 2011 and 2015, and 4,406 subjects, aged 18 years or older, were included in this study. Of these subjects, those who persistently experienced unmet dental care needs over the three-year period were identified. Panel logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify socio-demographic and health-related factors associated with the persistence of unmet dental care needs in two groups, those aged between 18-64 years and over 65 years. Results: Approximately 12% of subjects showed a persistence in unmet dental care needs. Marital status, education level, household income, type of health insurance, and self-rated health status all significantly correlated with the persistence of unmet dental care needs in both age groups. Conclusions: Efforts should be made to identify factors related to the persistence of unmet dental care needs in order to improve patient accessibility to dental care services.

• 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.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.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.911-920
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• 2018

Objectives: This study investigated the relationship between demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the Korean elderly and their unmet dental care needs, by using the 2015 data from the $6^{th}$ Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Methods: In total, 1,372 elderly persons aged 65 and over, who responded to the $6^{th}$ NHANES, were included in the final analysis. Logistic regression analysis was performed in order to identify any relationship between demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and unmet dental care needs. Results: The rate of unmet dental care needs was shown to be less by 0.799 times in the elderly who reside in dong than those who live in eup and myeon (OR: 0.799, 95% CI: 0.679-0.959). Unmet dental care needs were higher in participants with 'low' and 'below average' than 'above average' income, by 1.645 times (OR: 1.645, 95% CI: 1.087-2.366) and 1.172 times (OR: 1.172, 95% CI: 1.108-1.880), respectively. Elderly individuals living alone had a higher rate of unmet dental care needs than those living with their family by 1.157 times (OR: 1.157, 95% CI: 1.084-1.498). Conclusions: Demographic and socioeconomic factors influenced unmet dental care needs, causing inequality. Proper policy support to the vulnerable should be considered in order to enhance the elderly's access to dental care.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Oral Health
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.167-174
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• 2018

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the accessibility of dental care services among individuals with precarious employment in South Korea. Methods: We used the $9^{th}$ wave of the Korean Health Panel data (2015) and included 7,736 wage and non-wage earners in our study. We determined precariousness in the labor market as a combination of employment relationship and job income, and categorized individuals based on this into the following four groups: Group A comprising those who report job and income security, Group B comprising those who experience job insecurity alone, Group C comprising those who report a stable job but low income, and Group D comprising those who experience both job and income insecurity. Accessibility to dental care services was determined by experience of unmet dental care needs and unmet dental care needs caused primarily by financial burden. Logistic regression analyses were used to assess the effect of precarious work on access to dental care services. Results: Individuals with job insecurity (Group B; OR=1.445; 95% CI=1.22-1.70) and both job and income insecurity (Group D; OR=1.899; 95% CI=1.61-2.24) were more likely to have unmet needs than the comparison group. Both groups B and D were also 2.048 (95% CI=1.57-2.66) times and 4.435 (95% CI =3.46-5.68) times more likely, respectively, to have unmet dental care needs caused by financial burden. Education status, health insurance, and health status were all also effective factors influencing unmet dental care needs. Conclusions: Unstable employment and low income resulted in diminished access to dental care services. Therefore, governments should consider health policy solutions to reduce barriers preventing individuals with employment and income instability from accessing adequate dental care.

• 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.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.571-580
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• 2020

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with unmet dental needs among adults with activity limitations. Methods: Data were obtained from the seventh Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). The final sample consisted of 945 adults aged 20 years or older with limited activity. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the influence of predisposing, enabling, and need factors on unmet dental needs. Results: The proportion of adults with unmet dental needs during the last year was 52.2% in the middle-aged group and 45.5% in the older adult group. Higher household income was associated with fewer unmet dental needs in both groups. In the older adult group, married people were less likely to have unmet dental needs. In the middle-aged group, adults who perceived their oral health as poor were more likely to have unmet dental needs. Conclusions: All three factors (predisposing, enabling, and need) were found to be associated with unmet dental needs among adults with activity limitations. Special efforts should be made to improve access to dental care services for middle-aged adults with activity limitations.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.485-492
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• 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to identify factors related to unmet dental care needs among Korean youth, enhance the utilization of dental services by adolescents, furnish basic data for youth-oriented dental projects, and improve access to medical care. Methods: The analysis utilized combined data from the basic and oral databases from the 6th (2013-2015), 7th (2016-2018), and 1st year of the 8th (2019) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Results: The factors influencing unmet dental care needs were gender, age, household income level, and health insurance. Statistically significant results were observed in relation to the type of dental clinic, recent visits to a dental hospital, experiences of toothache within the past year, subjective oral health status, occurrences of permanent dental caries, and engagement in orthodontic treatment. Conclusions: When formulating future national policies and projects, it is imperative to consider the factors and underlying reasons for the unmet dental care needs of adolescents. It is also necessary to establish oral health policies and institutional measures tailored to the dental care of adolescents.