• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.31-42
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• 2009

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of the public dentist's professional education for 81 dentists employed at the public health centers and dental clinics in the National hospitals. The purpose of this education was to improve public dentist's abilities to perform their duties. The 3days education was from 28 May until 30 May in 2008. The total 81 participants consisted of 8 medical position dentists, 20 employment position dentists, and 53 public health dentists. The survey provided appraisal of the education and suggestion of the development after this education. The obtained results were as followings : l. The public dental health project for the disabled people(91.4%) was a top priority. The second rank was the public dental health education project (87.6%) and the public dental health project for the aged people(86.4%) was followed. 2. The participants agreed that public dentist's professional educational programs were necessary(87.6%). 3. The participants did not have difficulties in attending this education(56.8%). 4. The participants who participated in 2008 public dentists' professional education were satisfied with this educational programs(81.4%). 5. Not only did the public dentists need the preventive dentistry programs and the treatment of the disabled people but also needed the health administrative programs and the health statistical programs in the future.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.49 no.10
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• pp.599-608
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• 2011

Dentist-patient communication has long been recognized as an important part of dental care. It has many positive outcomes, including reducing patient dental anxiety and increasing patient satisfaction and patient compliance. Above all, the need to communicate through conversation with dentist must be perceived as a basic dental patient's need for good clinical outcomes. In the future, increasing geriatric dental patients will pose challenges to dental profession. Factors influencing dentist-geriatric patient communication should be researched and relevant techniques should be shared among dentists.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.221-230
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• 1996

This study was purposed to develop the fluoride mouthrinsing project through the public health system in a rural area. This project was performed under the management of the public health dentist for the 3rd grade students selected from the 5 primary schools at Goksunggun in Chonnam area. Fluoride mouthrinsing was executed with 0.2% neutral sodium fluoride solution once a week. After 1 year's fluoride mouthrinsing project, DMFT index, DMF rate frequencies of toothbrushing, simplified oral hygiene index, and the responses to fluoride mouthrinsing project of the school children participated were examined. The results obtained from this study were as follows: 1. The fluoride mouthrinsing project for school children was performed average 10 times a year by the public health dentist. They were relatively little active to perform this project. 2. There was no significant difference in the increasement of DMFT index and DMF rate during 1 year between control and fluoride mouthrinsing group. 3. Control group was increased higher than fluoride mouthrinsing group in simplified oral hygiene index. 4. Toothbrushing frequencies increased in both groups. 5. 80.4% of school children participated in fluoride mouthrinsing project was responded to like it, and 78.2% among them was responded the project to be beneficial for their dental health. 6. 39.2% of school children was responded to have water-like taste for fluoride solution. But 34.0% of them was done to have strange taste. On consideration of above findings, this fluoride mouthrinsing project was not well performed by the public health dentists and also the oral health status of school children participated was not significantly improved by this project. Therefore, to perform continually this project well, it was recommended that this project should be performed by other person such as dental hygienist rather than public health dentist.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.81-99
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• 1993

The purpose of this research is to assess the geographical distribution of physicians and dentists and the degree of maldistribution of the physician. Data were obtained form the Korean Medical Association's report on physicians registry and census for 1990. To assess the degree of disparity in the rural-urban distribution of physician manpower and to identify changes in the distribution pattern, the Gini index of concentration was used. Major findings are as follows; 1. Urban-rural disparity in the distribution of physician manpower exists in all categories of manpower, i.e. physician, dentist, oriental medical doctor, general practitioner, medical specialist, practitioner, public health physician and public health dentist. Urban area which had 74.4% of nation's population, accounted for over 90% of all physician manpower. 2. In terms of the ration of physician manpower per 10, 000 population, in urban area, they were 8.2 physicians, 2.7 general practitioners, 5.5 specialists, 3.0 practitioners, 1.8 dentists and 1.3 oriental medical doctors. In rural area, the ratios were 1.4 physicians, 0.6 general practitioners, 0.9 specialists, 1.0 practitioners, 0.4 dentists and 0.4 oriental medical doctors. 3. Gini indicies computed to measure inequality of physician manpower distribution were 0. 3675 for physicians, 0.3372 for general practitioners, 0.3338 for specialists, 0.2263 for practitioners, 0.3132 for dentists and 0.3293 for oriental medical doctors. 4. Inspite of increase in the number of physician manpower, urban concentration of physician manpower intensified from 1980 to 1990. However, the Gini index for all physician manpower fell by 18.3~36.7% from 1980 to 1990, indicating more even distribution. 5. In rural area, the public health physicians and dentists had increased the ratios of physicians, general practitioners, practitioners and dentists per 10, 000 population remarkebly, and had decreased the Gini indicies of physicians, general practitioners, practitioners and dentists. Thus, public health physicians and dentists contributed to improve the distribution of physician manpower in rural area. Based on the results of this study, long-term and rational manpower policies should be developed to solve the problem of geographical maldistribution of physician manpower as well as short-term policy for inducing physicians to the rural areas.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.411-416
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• 2015

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to identify oral health status and oral health care needs of elderly patients in long-term care hospital. Methods: Oral health examination was carried out by a dentist and questionnaire was completed by direct individual interview by a dental hygienist for 245 elderly patients in seven long-term care hospitals in Daegu from March 12 to April 16, 2011. Results: Those who need dental care were 188(76.7%) and was done by oral health examination by a dentist. 93 patients(38.0%) wanted dental care and 63 patients(25.3%) need dental care. The most important dental service in the elderly patients was denture and prosthetic service. As demand for denture and prosthetic service exceeds the supply, but only 35.9 percent of the elderly received the dental care service by the estimation of the caregivers. Conclusions: It will be necessary to establish the customized dental care service for the elderly patients in long term care hospitals. The oral health education for the caregivers is very important and the continuing education program must be implemented in the future.

• The Journal of Korea Assosiation for Disability and Oral Health
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.7-13
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• 2019

The aim of this study was to clarify the barriers of dental treatment for special needs patients felt by dentists and to determine the dentist-related factors contributing to the obstacles in treatment planning and decision making. Questionnaires were distributed and responded by dentists working at five public-based special care clinics in South Korea. Factors divided into three parts (dentist demographics, clinical factors, and educational and administrational factors) were assessed and analyzed for correlations between dentist-related factors and dentist-felt burdens for special care treatment. Fisher's exact test and Chi-square test were used at the level of 0.05. A total of 34 dentists responded to the questionnaires. Almost all dentists had obstacles in the treatment of special needs patients in terms of the patients' lack of cooperation (94.1%), proxy communication with caregivers (94.1%), payment reward system (63.6%), deficient workforce (67.7%), and others. The longer dentists had been practicing for special needs patients, the more they were dissatisfied with the reward system and a longer time was spent for communication with patients and their caregivers (p<0.05). For specialists, more obstacles were experienced in treatment planning due to a deficiency in the clinical information obtained from their patients compared to general practitioners (p<0.05). A total of 82.4% of the respondents approved of mandatory educational programs for special care dentists. There were practitioner-based factors related to the amount of obstacles felt by special care dentists. To overcome the treatment barrier of special needs patients, in-depth education and training are required in special care dentistry.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.263-282
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• 2006

The purpose of study was to offer devices to activate the dental health class of community health center and to evaluate the present programs and to propose adequate guidelines for future public dental health program of dental health care in health center. For this study, the mail quastionnaire survey was carried out from the 116 dental hygienists who are working in community health center. Present condition and direction of public dental health service are as follows: dentist's office was 90% by area and work department. Dental health department was equipped in 91.7% of 'public health center', but 'health branch office' was 57.9%. Dental hygienist education condition of Public health center was the most frequency in 'At large city'. 'Have no entirely' of dental health education number of times was 35.8% in 3 years. That is 44.5% in supplement insturction. Most Dental hygienist's business was most 'teeth-sealant' and 'Old man false teeth prosthetic dentistry business'. Therefor, The Obstacle factors of dental health service activity were 'manpower tribe(average 3.92)', and next 'lack of understanding and support insufficiency of law(average 3.47)'. Curriculum for educational practice should be also designed for brightening the dental health service business. The most important thing for dental health service is 'expanding and improving the facilities Legal system' and next 'Opportunity enlargement and activation that can take dental hygienist's residency'.

• Journal of Korean Dental Hygiene Science
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.37-43
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• 2020

Introduction: All work of dental hygienists in Korea is to be carried out under the supervision of a dentist, but the main tasks of dental hygienists are systematic and sufficiently trained within the college curriculum. The purpose of this study was to compare the curriculum between the Department of Dental Hygiene and the Department of Dentistry to provide a basis for legal revision of the dental hygienist's unique work. Methods: The curriculum was acquired from the homepage of the Department of Dental Hygiene and Dentistry. The curriculum in 23 of 28 dental hygiene schools and 6 of 11 dental schools was identified on the homepage. The swere classified based on the scope of dental hygienist work. Results: The Department of Dentistry has more than twice the number of credits and subjects compared to the Department of Dental Hygiene, and the top subjects belong to the treatment and rehabilitation of dental diseases. However, in the field of preventive dentistry, which is a unique work of dental hygienists, the Department of Dental Hygiene has a score of 9.3 times higher than that of dentistry. In the public oral health field, the oral health education field, and the dental management field, dental hygienists scored twice as high as dentists. Conclusion: Since dental hygienists are receiving more education than dentists in the areas of preventive dentistry, public oral health, oral health education, and dental management, which are unique tasks, it is suggested that the work can be performed independently without supervision of the dentist.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.83-93
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• 2013

This study was conducted on 350 students of health and medical department of universities in Busan from June 3, 2013 to June 21, 2013, and a total of 350 questionnaires were researched. Among them 337 responses were used after 13 unfaithful responses were excluded. The effects of oral health belief on use of dental service of students of health and medical department of universities were examined and analyzed to provide basic data which can be used to expand understanding about oral health belief, to promote changes in behaviors regarding oral health and to improve oral health of the public. Collected data was analyzed through SPSS (Statistical Packages for Social Science 15.0. SPSS Inc. USA). For verification of differences of oral health belief depending on general matters and oral health behavior, t-test and ANOVA analysis were conducted, and for examination of the effects of oral health belief on use of medical service, logistic regression and regression analysis were conducted. The study results suggest that those who had higher sensitivity among oral health belief variables had higher probability of needing dental treatment and seeing the dentist immediately. And those who showed higher sensitivity and importance had higher frequency of seeing the dentist for six months. Future studies need to be conducted on the methods to change oral health belief for sustainable and systematic oral health enhancement in consideration of the factors affecting oral health belief and oral health behavior of the students of dental hygiene department.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.85-108
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• 2012

One of the ways to achieve the principle of equal access for equal needs, availability and geographical accessibility of health care resources regardless of resident sites is important. The purpose of this paper is to measure socioeconomic inequities in distribution of health care resources among regions in the Republic of Korea (hereafter Korea). Data were extracted from regional statistics of National Health Insurance, Community Health Survey, Korea Social Science Data Archive, and Korean Statistical Information Services at the same period of 2009. The dependent variables were the number of health workforce and health care facilities in each region. The proxy indicator of regional socioeconomic status was local tax per person. To identify whether inequalities among regions, we examined the concentration index(CI) and indirectly standardized CI by controlling each region's demographics and need factors. Total observations were 232 districts in nationwide, and we analyzed separately Seoul(25 districts) and non-Seoul areas(207 districts). The standardized CI values of health care resources were positive(favoring the rich region) across the nation in almost all kinds of resources. Especially the number of specialist, dentist, dental clinics, clinics, oriental medical clinics, pharmacists, and pharmacies were statistically significantly favoring the rich region. But the CI for the number of long-term care hospitals, public health centers were negative(favoring the poor region). The tendency of CI presenting positive values were increased in Seoul area. But in the case of non-Seoul, the CI indexes were nearly zero. The results suggest that except the Seoul area, little regional socioeconomic-related inequalities were observed in the distribution of health care resources in Korea.