Classification of dental caries pattern in 12-year-old Korean adolescents by multivariate analysis / 대한구강보건학회지

ABSTRACT

Objectives@#The purpose of this study was to analyze the pattern of dental caries in 12-year-old Korean adolescents through multivariate analysis. @*Methods@#This study used raw data from the 2015 Korea Children’s Oral Health Survey. The study participants were 12-year-old adolescents. A total of 27,291 people participated in the questionnaire and oral test. The statistical analysis methods used were multidimensional scaling, cluster analysis, and factor analysis. @*Results@#The result was derived after analyzing the dental caries pattern of teeth and tooth surface by multi-dimensional scaling method, cluster analysis method, and factor analysis. Morphologically homologous teeth were gathered to form clusters. Caries occurrence showed a more similar caries experience pattern when the types of tooth surfaces, such as occlusal and occlusal surfaces, were the same than when they were different. @*Conclusions@#Epidemiological data on the pattern of dental caries in 12-year-old adolescents can be used as basic data to create evidence-based dental caries management plans.