Problems to Solve and Job Enlargement on the Inclusion of Dental Hygienists in the Category of Medical Personnel / 치위생과학회지

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions, precedent tasks, positive and negative effects, and expandable professional tasks regarding the inclusion of dental hygienists (DHs) in the category of medical personnel. This study involved a survey of 259 DHs and 128 dentists. The findings were as follows: 94.2% of DHs and 46.9% of dentists were aware of inclusion in the category of medical personnel; 95.0% of DHs and 64.1% of dentists supported the idea; and 84.9% of DHs and 51.6% of dentists recognized its legitimacy. As for precedent tasks for inclusion in the category of medical personnel, both DHs and dentists scored high points in professional consciousness in the area of occupation. Both DHs and dentists scored the highest points in the quality management of DH education and the lowest points in the unification of school systems in the area of institution. In the area of society, DHs scored high points in the persuasion of the central government, whereas dentists scored high points in collaboration among concerned organizations. Regarding the positive effects of inclusion in the category of medical personnel, both DHs and dentists scored the highest points in the expanded perception of DHs. As for its negative effects, DHs scored high points in the aggravation of salary increase, whereas dentists scored high points in the aggravation of salary increase. Regarding expandable professional tasks after the inclusion of DHs in the category of medical personnel, the management of independent periodontal care programs recorded the highest percentage both in DHs and dentists. These findings highlight the need for adequate discussions about the meanings of the inclusion of DHs in the category of medical personnel and will hopefully contribute to the rational adjustment and legalization of DHs' works with regard to their inclusion in the category of medical personnel.

Effects of Professional Toothbrushing and Instruction in the Elderly: A Randomized Trial / 치위생과학회지

The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of providing toothbrushing by professionals as part of oral hygiene education for the elderly. We randomly visited 12 centers in the metropolitan city and analyzed the data of 114 participants among 310 early registrants aged >65 years, who participated in the study at all 3 time points. The subjects were categorized into an experimental group (odd-numbered visits) and a control group (even-numbered visits). Oral hygiene practices were provided for both experimental and control groups, but professional toothbrushing was performed in a different manner in the experimental group. Differences in plaque index (PI) according to the subjects' general characteristics and oral health status were assessed using the t-test, and the effect of PI difference between the experimental and control groups was assessed by repeated measure two-way analysis of variance. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to analyze factors affecting the PI. At baseline, the mean overall PI was 61.82. In both experimental and control groups, the PI significantly reduced from the baseline (p <0.01). At 5 weeks, the experimental group showed a decrease of 27.16 points from the baseline, and the 10-week PI was similar to the 5-week PI. The control group showed a decrease of 14.87 points from the baseline, and the PI increased by 5.74 points at 10 weeks. PI-related factors were gender and self-xerostomia. The PI was lower in the female group and the group with self-xerostomia (p <0.01). It is important to select an appropriate method to educate elderly subjects on proper removal of dental plaque and to habituate correct behavior, which requires inclusion of a direct toothbrushing intervention by a specialist.

Subjective Symptoms of Peri-Implantitis and Satisfaction according to Prosthesis Methods / 치위생과학회지

From March 1, 2016 to August 31, 2016, 375 dental implant patients between the ages of 30 and 70 years to evaluate their subjective symptoms and satisfaction according to prosthesis methods. The collected data were analyzed using the chi-square distribution test, t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and multiple logistic regression. Of the patients with subjective symptoms of peri-implantitis, 40.5% reported food impaction, 49.1% reported bleeding, 61.1% reported pain, 61.9% reported halitosis, and the overall satisfaction level with the implants was 3.95 points. In the prosthesis methods, implant-teeth connective group showed the lowest level of the food impaction (21.3%), the pain (35.5%), and the halitosis (36.6%) (p<0.001), and the lowest bleeding was the implant single (33.8%) (p<0.05). Patient satisfaction was higher in the implant-teeth connective group (4.06 points) and the group without bone grafting (4.03 points) (p<0.01). Factor analysis showed that implant satisfaction was 0.43 times lower in the single implant group and 0.44 times lower in the implant-implant connective group than in the implant-teeth connective group. As a result of the study, it is expected that the method of extending the life of adjacent teeth and restoring the function of the tooth defect region is an implant-teeth connection method, so that it can be utilized positively through various clinical studies.

Periodontal Status in Accordance with the Daily Stress and Coping and Control Effect of Oral Health Behavior / 치위생과학회지

In this study, 110 adults aged 40 to 69 years were surveyed from April 28, 2016, to May 28, 2016 to analyze their periodontal status according to daily stress, coping methods, and oral health behavior. The collected data were analyzed using the t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and hierarchical multiple regression. Daily stress levels of all subjects were most frequent potential risk 64.5% of the subjects, the high risk 19.1% and 16.4% of the health group. Regarding stress coping methods, active methods recorded 2.46, passive methods recorded 2.32. Regarding oral health behaviors, subjects brushed an average of 2.45 times daily, for an average of 2 minutes. Futhermore, 69.1% of subjects brushed before bedtime and 89.1% practiced scaling. Regarding periodontal status, the O'Leary index was 73.45, gingivitis index was 1.30, an average of 2.83 quadrants possessed a periodontal pocket. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis identified, type of employment (β=−0.348), scaling (β= −0.253), and age (β=0.244) as factors that influence the number of quadrants possessing a periodontal pocket. These results confirmed that the oral health behavior of scaling, but not stress levels of coping methods, strongly influenced periodontal status.

Oral health educational contents in primary, middle, and high school textbooks / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted in order to analyze oral health content and its importance in primary, middle, and high school textbooks. METHODS: A total of 1,176 textbooks was reviewed, and the items under investigation included: textbook division (national/authorized), titles; grade levels, semesters taught, inclusion of educational content for general and oral health, and the number of pages and rows containing the oral health information. The data were analyzed via paired t-tests, frequency analyses, and one-way ANOVAs. RESULTS: Oral health content was found in 12.1 percent of the primary school textbooks, 6.5% of the middle school texts, and 2.1% of the high school textbooks. The total average was 5.4%. Among the textbooks containing health (general and oral) content, the average number of pages (P<0.001) containing general and oral health information were 22.1 and 0.5, respectively. The average number of lines (P<0.001) for both types of health information were 475.1 and 6.2, respectively, in the primary school textbooks. Middle school textbooks included average numbers of health information-related pages (P<0.001) of 45.7 and 0.4 and average numbers of lines (P<0.001) of 1,086.9 and 5.3, respectively. The average number of pages (P<0.001) in the high school books containing general and oral health content were 83.0 and 0.9, respectively, and the average number of lines (P<0.001) were 2,128.6 and 10.7. Our research showed that, regarding the degree of reflecting oral health education objectives, high school textbooks gained 1.00 point (1 objective), middle school books obtained 0.67 point (5 objectives), and primary school books received 0.18 point (39 objectives; P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Oral health content in textbooks decreased as school level increased. The objectives of oral health education for primary school were not properly reflected in the textbooks because the objectives were relatively diverse, and the textbook treatment of the material was rather static.

The ethical propensity, professionalism and ethical job behavior of clinical dental hygienists / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to the ethical propensity, professionalism, and ethical job behavior of dental hygienists. METHODS: The subjects of this study were 748 dental hygienists, who are working at various types of dental hospitals and clinics around the country, from January 23 to March 30, 2012. Data were analyzed with a t-test, one-way ANOVA, Chi-square, and Stepwise multiple regression analysis SPSS 19.0. RESULTS: As for the ethical propensity of dental hygienists, their idealism scores were 3.87, which was higher than their relativism scores. The ethical job behavior and professionalism scores were higher in absolutists (3.80, 3.40 points) and situationists (3.77, 3.44 points), than subjectivists (3.49, 3.19 points) and exceptionists (3.38, 3.09 points) in the ethical types. The ethical job behavior and professionalism-related common Influence factors was idealism. CONCLUSIONS: The absolutists and situationists with a high tendency of idealism were high in the level of professionalism and ethical job behavior, according to the ethical types.

Influencing factors in the halitosis / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to analyze the factors that influence adults halitosis. METHODS: The subjects of this study were 186 adults aged from 35 to 69, between April 4 and May 30, 2012. Data were analyzed with t-test, one-way ANOVA, and binary logistic regression analysis SPSS 19.0. RESULTS: The most influential factor of VSCs was halitosis perceived by others (OR: 5.18; 95% CI: 1.82-14.70), which was followed by oral respiration (OR: 3.65; 95% CI: 1.28-10.41), and O'Leary index (OR: 3.40; 95% CI: 1.55-7.46) in the order. The influential factors of ammonia were respiratory disease (OR: 30.72; 95% CI: 1.85-51.37), gastrointestinal disease (OR: 12.28; 95% CI: 1.78-44.79), missing tooth (OR: 3.75; 95% CI: 1.57-8.92), periodontal pocket (OR: 2.61; 95% CI: 1.10-6.18), tongue brushing (OR: 0.38; 95% CI: 0.15-0.95), and oral prophylaxis (within a year) (OR: 0.31; 95% CI: 0.13-0.75). CONCLUSIONS: Halitosis is the result of complex actions among individual characteristics, systematic disease, oral health state, and health behavior.