Effects of full problem based learning of dental students on self-directed learning, communication, and problem solving abilities / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of problem-based learning (PBL) on dental education to dental students. The following were investigated in this study: 1. Does PBL improve the ability of self-directed learning? 2. Does PBL change communication ability? 3. Does PBL change the strategy of problem solving? METHODS: The participants of this study were 39 students in the experimental group and 68 students in the control group. The measurement tools of this study were self-directed learning, communication, and problem solving abilities tests designed by the Korean Educational Development Institute. The data was analyzed by the two-way ANOVA and ANOVA with repeated measures. RESULTS: In self-directed learning ability during 3 semesters, the experimental group showed a U-shape change but the control group showed a reverse U-shape change. In the experimental group, the self-directed learning ability was decreased after one year (after the first and second semester). The level of communication ability decreased every day during the three semesters monitored in both the control and experimental groups. The level of communication ability in the experimental group continuously decreased during the three semesters, with the exception of one semester. Finally, for the problem solving ability during the three semesters, the experimental group showed a reverse U-shape change while the control group showed a U-shape change. In the experimental group, there was no change after two semesters. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of the findings in this study, the following conclusions can be made. First, problem-based learning has a positive educational effect compared to didactic-based learning within one year. Second, the appropriate length of PBL is two semesters, or one year. It could be recommended that dental education in Korea should be combined or hybridized with PBL; for example, PBL could be used in combination with brief lectures or block lectures by teachers.

Factors influencing oral discomfort in elderly people / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate oral discomfort factors in the elderly and to analyze the sociodemographic and health-related characteristics influencing their oral discomfort using multiple regression analysis. METHODS: Facilities were selected based on the 2014 Elderly Welfare Facilities Status. Data was collected through the interview of 176 participants aged ≥65 years. The oral discomfort factors (10 items) were investigated using a 5-point Likert scale. The total oral discomfort scores were added for each of the 10 items investigated using the 5-point Likert scale. SPSS 12.0 program was used to analyze the descriptive statistics and perform a t-test and a stepwise multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: The oral discomfort factor with the highest score was g oral discomfort factorThe total oral discomfort score for women was significantly higher than that for men. 'men. gnificantly higher thangenderg were, respectively, the health-related and sociodemographic characteristics that most significantly influenced the total oral discomfort scores. Perceived oral health accounted for 30.4% of the total oral discomfort score, while gender accounted for 2%. CONCLUSIONS: Health-related characteristics were more significantly associated with oral discomfort than sociodemographic characteristics. Since sociodemographic characteristics are not easily changed, government and healthcare providers should strive to improve the health of the elderly population.

Logistic regression analysis of factors affecting the survival of first molars in Korean adults / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to analyze the variables affecting the survival of the four permanent first molars in an adult Korean population using logistic regression analysis. METHODS: The Korean government has been collecting oral health data at the national level at 3-year intervals since 2000. In addition, a national survey was conducted in 2006 among 15,777 persons aged 2-95 years who were stratified by age, gender, and region. The relationship between each of nine objective variables and tooth survival was analyzed by frequency, cross-tabulation, and logistic regression analysis, with age, gender, and economic status as functional variables. The inclusion level was alpha=0.05 and the exclusion level was alpha=0.10. The nine variables were age, occupational status, monthly family income, gender, frequency of brushing the teeth, snack intake per day, presence of diabetes, education level, and smoking (packs per year). RESULTS: The survival rate of the molars decreased with increased age. In individuals who engaged in farming, stock breeding, and fishing, the rate was 2-5 times lower than that of individuals in higher positions in terms of jobs and society. Furthermore, the survival rate for smokers was 5-10 percent lower, compared with non-smokers. CONCLUSIONS: The most significant predictor of the survival rate of the four permanent molars in Korean adults was age, followed by jobs, smoking, and gender.

Review on dental fear and anxiety factors by DFS / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: The study on dental fear has increased recently. Studies found that people with high dental fear and or anxiety were less likely to visit dentists. The aim of this study is to review the trend of study on dental fear and to analyse the major factors related to dental fear. METHODS: Seventy four papers listed in Korea Citation Index and SCI(E) were assessed. Quality Assessment and Validity Tool for Correlation Studies (QAVTCS) and Dental Fear Study (DFS) were used in this study. SPSS 12.0 was employed to analyse the descriptive statistics, t-test and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) with stepwise. RESULTS: The total mean score of QAVTCS for international studies was significantly higher than domestic studies (P=.001). The mean scores of item, 'Seeing the anesthetic needle' and 'Feeling the anesthetic needle', were severe level (Means= 3.05, 3.14, severe>3.00). According to the MLR, the powerful predisposing factors (independent variable) on 'Overall fear of dentistry (dependent variable)' were 'Hearing the drill' (P<.01) and 'Having teeth cleaned' (P<.05). CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that people had high dental fear in direct dental treatment environment such as contact with seeing anesthetic needle and hearing dental drill. Therefore, this study suggests the need to map out specific and multidirectional plan for decreasing dental fear.

Pilot study on development of oral health literacy evaluation tool for Korean adults / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: Oral health literacy is defined as 'the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic oral health information and services needed to make an appropriate health decision'. This goal of this study was to develop an instrument for assessing oral health literacy in Korean adults. METHODS: This instrument was developed by using the adult literacy evaluation tool of the Korean Government. The components were mainly related to 2 conditions ('oral health information' and 'dental treatment instruction'), and they were classified into 3 cognitive processes (realistic, deductive, and critical domains). Furthermore, all of the subcomponents were divided into prose and non-prose. Therefore, each of the 12 subcomponents had 4 items, resulting in a final questionnaire with 48 items. A pilot survey was conducted in 51 adults, and the quality of the questionnaire was subsequently evaluated. We identified reliability by using Cronbach's alpha, discrimination, and difficulty. Two items from each of the 12 subcomponents were selected as the final items. We set the difference thresholds at over 0.5 and over 0.3 for reliability and discrimination, respectively. Finally, we distributed the difficulty from 35 to 95%. RESULTS: The reliabilities of all items (48) and the final items (24) were 0.838 and 0.836, respectively. The mean discrimination of the final items was higher than that of all items (mean: 0.5 and 0.3, respectively). The difficulty curve of the final items followed a normal distribution. CONCLUSIONS: The reliability and validity demonstrated by the final 24 items indicates that they are appropriate for evaluating oral health literacy in adults.