Cost-benefit analysis of a water fluoridation program for 11 years in Jinju, Korea / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to estimate the economic costs and benefits of a water fluoridation program in the city of Jinju, Korea. METHODS: In 2009, dental surveys were conducted on 2,315 children aged 6-12 years in Jinju, which had been fluoridated for 11 years. The decayed/missing/filled teeth (DMFT) scores of children in Jinju were compared to the DMFT scores of same-aged children in non-fluoridated small- and medium-sized cities in the fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted from 2007 to 2009 by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The reduced number of decayed permanent teeth by the water fluoridation program was estimated as the difference between the DMFT scores of children in Jinju and those in non-fluoridated small- and medium-sized cities. The economic benefits were estimated by the savings from reduced dental treatment costs by using the reduced number of decayed permanent teeth from the water fluoridation program. All annual costs and benefits were calculated from 1998 to 2009. The social rate and untreated rate of decayed teeth were applied as 3% and 20%, respectively. The annual benefit-cost ratio was estimated by using the annual benefits and cumulative program costs. RESULTS: The economic benefit in 2009 from a water fluoridation program was estimated as 57,496,000,000 Korean Won (KRW), and the cumulative cost in 2009 was estimated as 1,387,000,000 KRW. The net present value in 2009 from a water fluoridation program was 56,109,000,000 KRW. The benefit-cost ratio in 2009 was estimated as 41.4. CONCLUSIONS: The economic benefit of a water fluoridation program in Jinju city was evaluated as excellent.

Factors related to the consumption of illegal dental treatments in Korean adults / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to analyze the factors that are related to the illegal dental treatment experience (IDTX), among the Korean adults. METHODS: The raw data for the analysis of IDTX, among the Korean adults, which were aged 17 years and over, were obtained from the dataset of the Korean National Oral Health Survey (KNOHS), which was conducted in 2006. Stratified weighted total 11,808 samples were selected by region and clustered sampling methods. The data of weighted total 11,808 samples were analyzed, using a chi-square test and a logistic regression analysis, by demographic socioeconomic variables of age, gender, area, educational level, occupation, national health insurance, and monthly income. RESULTS: IDTX rate was under 10%, among the adults aged 35~44 years or below the age group. However, it increased to 18.9%, among the adults aged 45~54 years and overtook over 30% among the adults 55 years and over. The age group of high IDTX rate was coincided to the age group of high number of lost teeth. Most of IDTX were presumed to prosthetic treatments. In IDTX rate of samples, aged 45 years and over, odds ratio of females' was 1.3, compared to that of the males'; odds ratio of metropolitan area, 1.2 compared to rural area. IDTX rate was higher among the middle school or below educational level group compared to that of college or over educational level group. IDTX rate of medicaid or not joined to national health insurance group was 31.3%, higher than that of national health insurance group. IDTX rates of low monthly income group, less than 4 million KRW were higher than monthly income group of 4 million KRW or more. CONCLUSIONS: To supply the prosthetic treatments for the population of medicaid and national health insurance is needed to remove illegal dental treatments in Korea.