As the elderly population increases, they are increasingly affected by oral health problems. Therefore, efforts are being made to improve the oral health of older people, alleviate mental discomfort, and reduce unmet dental needs. This study was conducted to confirm the relationship between the National Health Insurance Elderly Denture Coverage and the unmet dental need for the edentulous elderly, as part of the protection policy. We analyzed the 2011 and 2013 Community Health Survey data of the edentulous elderly, aged 75 years or older, before 2012. In order to more precisely confirm the effects of the denture donation policy on unmet dental care, basic life recipients who were subject to the free elderly prosthetic project were excluded from the analysis. The final analysis included 20,400 subjects. According to our investigation of the factors that affect the unmet dental needs of the elderly, the National Health Insurance Elderly Denture Coverage did not affect unmet dental needs. The statistically significant variables that affected the unmet dental needs of the elderly were education and income levels, which are representative socioeconomic status variables. The lower the level of education, the unhealthier the dental care experience, and income levels showed a similar tendency. The elderly who have a low socioeconomic status are more likely to experience unmet dental needs because they lack the knowledge and socioeconomic ability to pay for dental care. Therefore, the policy for health protection of the entire elderly population should be continuously expanded. In addition, the socioeconomically vulnerable groups may have health problems due to the restriction of medical use, which may lead to quality of life deterioration.
Aged* ; Dental Care ; Dentures* ; Education ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; National Health Programs* ; Oral Health ; Quality of Life ; Social Class

This study investigated the effects of critical thinking and empathy on the cultural competence of dental hygienists and students. A total of 529 dental hygiene students were randomly sampled and included as subjects. PASW Statistics for Windows ver. 18.0 was used to obtain the following results. Among the critical thinking sub-domains, cognitive integration was the highest and the lowest. Empathic ability had the highest acceptance factor among the sub-domains. Cultural competence was the highest among the sub-domains, while cultural knowledge was the lowest. According to their general characteristics, subject age, grade, religion, and economic level influenced the cultural capacity. Cultural awareness and sensitivity were high when there were foreign visiting experiences. Cultural awareness, sensitivity, skills, and knowledge were high when subjects had experienced multicultural education (p < 0.05). Cultural awareness, sensitivity, skill, experience, and knowledge were correlated with critical thinking and cultural competence, among which cultural sensitivity showed the highest correlation (p < 0.001). There was a correlation between cultural awareness and sensitivity, skill, and experience among the empathy and cultural competency sub-domains (p < 0.001). The factors influencing cultural awareness included intellectual integration, openness, prudence, and perspective-taking (p < 0.001). The factors influencing cultural sensitivity included intellectual integration, openness, and empathic concern (p < 0.001). The factors influencing cultural skill included intellectual integration, creativity, and conductivity (p < 0.001). The factors influencing cultural experience included prudence, objectivity, perspective-taking, and personal distress (p < 0.001). Finally, the factors influencing cultural knowledge included creativity and conductivity (p < 0.001). The results indicate that dental hygiene students should be equipped with cultural competence to enhance critical thinking and empathy required by the modern society and optimized dental hygiene courses should be provided for multicultural subjects.
Creativity ; Cultural Competency ; Dental Hygienists ; Education ; Empathy ; Humans ; Oral Hygiene ; Thinking

Background: The purpose of this study is to identify the gender sensitivity and gender role stereotypes of students in dental hygiene and to provide basic data to expand social awareness of equal gender sensitivity and gender role in dental hygiene and students by identifying the degree of correlation. Methods: The purpose of this study was to study dental hygiene students at colleges in Gyeonggi and Chungcheong areas. The survey was conducted from April 1 to April 30, 2021. The final sample was analyzed on 157 subjects. T-test and ANOVA analysis were performed to compare gender sensitivity and gender role stereotypes according to general characteristics. Equal variances were tested using the Levene statistic, and significant differences between groups were identified through Scheffe’s post hoc analysis. Pearson’s correlation analysis was performed to confirm the correlation between gender sensitivity and gender role stereotypes. Results: Gender sensitivity was 2.69 and gender role stereotypes were 1.83. Among the sub-areas of gender sensitivity, gender role openness was the highest at 2.86, and non-violence was the lowest at 2.50. As for gender role stereotypes, social stereotypes were the highest among sub-areas at 1.71. Among the general characteristics, there was a statistically significant difference in gender sensitivity according to the presence or absence of opposite sex friends (p=0.011). The gender identity openness of gender sensitivity and the physical sub-areas of gender role stereotypes showed the highest positive correlation(r=0.955). Among the sub-areas of gender sensitivity, gender role openness and domestic stereotypes showed the lowest negative correlation (r=−0.404) among the sub-areas of gender role stereotypes. Conclusion Dental hygiene students should be able to critically analyze and solve problems of not only sexual violence but also gender discrimination and imbalance in social life. For this, environmental factors such as school education and professor guidance must be strengthened.

Background: Maintaining a skilled workforce by minimizing the turnover of competent dental hygienists is very important for securing dental competitiveness. Therefore, it is necessary to find a predictor of turnover and lower turnover intention. To understand dental hygienist turnover, it is necessary to study the resilience, a positive factor of personal characteristics and job embeddedness that induces residual tissue. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of dental hygienists’ job embeddedness and resilience on turnover intention. Methods: A survey was conducted on licensed dental hygienists nationwide, from March 19 to July 19, 2020. T-test and one way ANOVA analysis were performed to compare the job embeddedness, resilience, and turnover intention according to the general characteristics. Pearson’s correlation analysis was performed to identify the correlation between job embeddedness, resilience, and turnover intention. Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the effect on the turnover intention. Results: Job embeddedness was the highest with link and resilience scoring 3.57 and 4.16, respectively. The turnover intention scored 3.53. Among the general characteristics, age, marriage, total dental clinic career, education degree, and position showed statistically significant differences in job embeddedness, resilience, and turnover intention. Suitability, link, and sacrifice of job embeddedness were shown to affect the degree of turnover intention, with an explanatory power of 26.2%. Conclusion In order to reduce the dental hygienists’ turnover intention, job embeddedness and resilience should be increased.Thus, measures should be undertaken for professional and systematic program development and human resources management.

In order to identify the relationship between the patient's age and the presence of another disease, and the postoperative complications and mortality, we reviewed the medical records of 6156 patients admitted to the Department of Surgery, Dae Jeon Eul Ji General Hospital, during the period from January 1991 through December 1995. There were 1546 geriatric patients(>65 years of age) and 4610 adult patients (age between 16 and 64). Six hundred sixty-five patients (43%) in the geriatric group had one or more concurrent diseases preoperatively, whereas 1127 patients (24.4%) in adult group did. Postoperative complications were more frequent in the geriatric group: 21.6% (310 patients) in the geriatric group vs 15.2%(217 patients) in the adult group. Geriatric patients who had more than one concurrent disease and who underwent an emergency operation showed a higher postoperative complication rate than those who had only one concurrent disease and who underwent elective surgery. The postoperative mortality was also higher in the geriatric group: 3.8%(48 patients) in the geriatric group vs 0.7% (32 patients) in the adult group. The most frequent cause of postoperative death in the geriatric group was sepsis. The geriatric patients who had a concurrent disease account for 16.4% of postoperative complications and 1.5% of the mortalities, whereas those who did not have any concurrent disease account for 2.67% and 0.2%, respectively. Among 1127 adult patients who had a concurrent disease, 124 (11.0%) had postoperative complications and 24 (2.2%) died postoperatively. In conclusion, the elderly patients more frequently had one or more concurrent diseases, and these patients had higher postoperative complication and mortality rates, especially after emergency operations. Accordingly, it is crucial for the surgeon to completely evaluate and manage any concurrent diseases in elderly patients preoperatively.
Adult ; Aged ; Daejeon ; Emergencies ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Postoperative Complications ; Sepsis

The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of cultural competence and its influencing factors among 530 dental hygiene students. The analysis was performed using PASW Statistics ver. 18.0, and the following conclusions were drawn. Cultural knowledge levels showed a significant difference according to general characteristics in four components of cultural competence levels. Cultural competence and its four components were higher in subjects who have a religion (p<0.05). The differences in cultural competence levels according to culture-related characteristics are as follows. In individuals with experience of taking foreign culture-related classes, intention to work overseas, or fluency in a foreign language, cultural competence levels and its four components such as cultural comfort, knowledge, awareness, and behavior intent were higher (p<0.05). Intention of overseas employment was the factor most strongly influencing the level of cultural competence of the subjects. The more intention the subjects have to work overseas, the more they have experienced foreign culture-related lessons, the more fluently they speak a foreign language, and the higher level of cultural competency they reached (p<0.05). As the research results show, it is necessary to establish a continuing plan to understand and communicate with individuals of other cultures through foreign language and foreign culture classes in schools in order to improve the level of cultural competence. This education would reduce the fear and stress that subjects might make a mistake in meeting with people from other cultures, and it could be a preparatory process to actively carry out dental hygiene practice with foreigners.
Cultural Competency* ; Education ; Emigrants and Immigrants ; Employment ; Humans ; Intention ; Oral Hygiene*

Background: Smartphones are a modern necessity. While they are convenient to use, smartphones also have side effects such as addiction. This study assessed the relationship between smartphone use, a part of everyday life in modern society, and oral health. Methods: An analysis was conducted using 2017 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey data. The propensity score estimation algorithm used logistic regression and 1:1 matching algorithm using nearest-neighbor matching. After matching, a total of 15,032 participants were classified into two groups containing 7,516 teenagers each who did and did not use smartphones, respectively. Results: Comparison of oral health behaviors according to smartphone use revealed a statistically significant difference in the frequency of tooth brushing per day, use of oral hygiene products, intake of foods harmful to oral health, and experience of oral health education (p＜0.05). The factors affecting oral pain experience of adolescents were examined. Compared to male participants, female participants had an odds ratio of 1.627 for oral pain (p＜0.05). According to the household income level, compared to the group with higher income, the group with lower income showed higher oral pain experience (p＜0.05). Oral pain experience was 1.601 times more frequent among teenagers using smartphones (p＜0.05). Conclusion The results of this study indicated that use of smartphones by adolescents affected their oral health. These findings indicate the need for improved oral health management through the use of effective school oral health programs and individual counseling by oral health professionals, promotion of information dissemination through public media, and development of prevention strategies.

As of August 2020, the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases around the world was about 22 million and the number of deaths was about 770,000 1) . The virus was first discovered in China and it spread to South Korea, Europe, and the United States. Currently, it is prevalent in the Americas, India, and the Middle East as well.COVID-19 is transmitted through air droplets. South Korea has been successful in controlling the spread of infection using a strict quarantine system and public health awareness on measures such as hand washing and the wearing of masks. However, following the group infections in Shincheonji, Itaewon, and recently the Sarangjeil church, South Korea has active cases. Although dental clinics in Korea generate significant aerosol that may facilitate droplet infections, they have recorded no cases 2) .There are rare cases in Korea, and asymptomatic patients may have visited dentists; however, no case has been reported, and this may be attributed to the effectiveness of the wearing of masks and gloves and infection control in dental clinics.In Korea, the Dental Infection Control Standard Policy & Procedure 3) established infection control systems classified into: (1) standard precautions/occupational safety; (2) 2019 (COVID-19) cases around the world was about 22 million and the number of deaths was about 770,000 1) . The virus was first discovered in China and it spread to South Korea, Europe, and the United States. Currently, it is prevalent in the Americas, India, and the Middle East as well.COVID-19 is transmitted through air droplets. South Korea has been successful in controlling the spread of infection using a strict quarantine system and public health awareness on measures such as hand washing and the wearing of masks. However, following the group infections in Shincheonji, Itaewon, and recently the Sarangjeil church, South Korea has active cases. Although dental clinics in Korea generate significant aerosol that may facilitate droplet infections, they have recorded no cases 2) .There are rare cases in Korea, and asymptomatic patients may have visited dentists; however, no case has been reported, and this may be attributed to the effectiveness of the wearing of masks and gloves and infection control in dental clinics.In Korea, the Dental Infection Control Standard Policy & Procedure 3) established infection control systems classified into: (1) standard precautions/occupational safety; (2) instrument reprocessing; (3) environmental and waterline management of dental institutions; (4) special infection control, which covers guidelines on infection control and precautions such as hand washing and the wearing of personal protective equipment. The current status of infection control in dental clinics may provide insights into solutions for preventing COVID-19 infections. With the increasing prevalence of severe viral diseases such as COVID-19, thorough infection control and continued research is paramount.

Background: The establishment of a strategy for the reduction and prevention of oral disease, a global pervasive disease, isconsidered one of the important national health policy strategies. In Korea, the 5th Comprehensive National Health Promotion Plan is currently in progress, but there is insufficient research on the transition process or improvement direction in the field of oral health. Methods: Changes in Comprehensive National Health Promotion Plan’s Oral health sector in three countries were compared, and the direction of the three countries (Korea, the United States, and Canada) in accordance with the recent Oral health paradigm was confirmed. In this study, we reviewed the existing literature using the narrative review method to draw implications for strategies and directions for oral health promotion in Korea. Results: In Korea, the oral health promotion strategy is included in the 5th Comprehensive National Health Promotion Plan, andthe project is being led by the government. The United States prepared a national-led oral health promotion strategy and suggested multi-disciplinary cooperation to improve overall oral health and reduce the oral health inequality. For more active intervention, Canada established an oral health-related department and assigned experts, while emphasizing cooperation between the government and the private sector. Conclusion As a result of this study, Korea is also making efforts to improve oral health, but more active government interventionis needed to reduce the inequality in oral health by population group. To this end, it is necessary to establish a strong multi-sectoral cooperation system and prepare a strategy for implementation.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the effects of critical thinking and good communication skills on the problem-solving abilities of dental hygiene students. METHODS: A total of 508 dental hygiene students were convenience-sampled from 3 universities. RESULTS: The results revealed that critical thinking had the highest intellectual fairness score of 3.60, and systematicity was the lowest at 3.19. The values for communication skills were high in reaction, social adequacy, and concentration, with an average of 3.65. Problem-solving abilities were in the following order: clarification of the problem, seeking solutions, and decision making. According to general characteristics, more extroverted personalities possessed higher levels of critical thinking, communication skills, and problem-solving abilities (p<0.01). Critical thinking scores were high (p=0.016) in students who responded that peer relationship was difficult; however, their communication skills were the lowest (p<0.001). Additionally, problem-solving abilities were highest among students who reported a difficult peer relationship (p=0.001). The higher the satisfaction with dental hygiene academics, the higher the critical thinking, communication skill, and problem-solving ability (p<0.001). Critical thinking showed a high positive correlation with variables in the following order: clarification of the problem, performing the solutions, seeking solutions, decision making, and evaluation and reflection. The communication skills were also related to these variables listed above (p<0.01). With critical thinking, confidence, watchfulness, intellectual passion/curiosity, sound skepticism, objectivity, and systematicity all influenced the problem-solving ability. CONCLUSION: Communication skills were influenced by noise control, putting on the other's shoe, social tensions, and efficiency, which affected the problem-solving ability. Dental clinics require dental hygienists to have critical thinking to make analytical judgments and effective communication skills to solve human relation problems with patients and care-givers. Therefore, these skills should be developed in dental hygiene students to improve their problem-solving abilities.
Decision Making ; Dental Clinics ; Dental Hygienists ; Humans ; Judgment ; Noise ; Oral Hygiene ; Shoes ; Thinking