Background: Legal regulations and fees have been established in Korea to provide visiting oral health care services to individuals with long-term care insurance (LTCI). However, beneficiaries of this service are very limited. Therefore, to improve the Korean system we propose a comparative analysis with the Japanese system. Methods: This study is a descriptive analysis based on secondary data, such as statistics, laws, and service record forms from Korea and Japan. The most recent institutional documents were obtained through a Google search. The variables investigated were financial resources of LTCI, co-payment structure, monthly limit of LTCI benefits, care levels of LTCI, service providers, service costs, contents of service, and the number of cases of service. Results: In both Korea and Japan, LTCI is financed through a combination of taxes and insurance premiums. However, the monthly limit for receiving LTCI services in Japan is about 2.4 times higher than in Korea. Visiting medical and dental treatment is also possible in Japan. Furthermore, nursing staff can provide daily oral health care services according to dental hygienists’ instruction unlike Korea. Oral health care services in Korea are focused on oral hygiene and prevention of oral diseases, while Japan additionally provides oral function screening, patient education for oral health management, and training for nursing staff to enhance oral function, eating, and swallowing of the patients. Conclusion We concluded that the possibility of visiting dental treatment, differences in monthly limit of LTCI benefits, oral function assessment and guidance, as well as collaboration with other healthcare professionals contributed to the difference in the frequency of utilization of visiting oral health care services between Korea and Japan.

An adult Japanese man who had just returned from Thailand developed dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). A primary infection of dengue virus (DENV) was confirmed, specifically DENV serotype 2 (DENV-2), on the basis of the detection of the virus genome, a significant increase in the neutralizing antibody and the isolation of DENV-2. DHF is often observed following a secondary infection from another serotype of dengue virus, particularly in children, but this case was a primary infection of DENV. Japan is a non-endemic country for dengue disease. In fact, only Japanese encephalitis (JE) is known to be a member of the endemic flavivirus family. In this study, IgG antibody against Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) was detected. JEV belongs to the family of dengue virus and prevails in Japan, particularly Kyushu. Among many risk factors for the occurrence of DHF, a plausible candidate could be a cross-reactive antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) mechanism caused by JEV antibody. This indicates that most Japanese travelers who living in dengue non-endemic areas, particularly Kyushu, should be aware of the occurrence of DHF.

The purpose of this study was to determine the status of dental hygienists in Japan. The study explicated the history, core curriculum, National Examination for Dental Hygienists, work roles of dental hygienists, and workplaces of dental hygienists. This study was based on the government policy report on dental hygienists and the information published by each public institution. The latest statistics presented by the institutions were collected through official websites. The employment information of graduates from Hiroshima University was analyzed based on actual field study. The results of the study revealed that social demand for dental hygienists has steadily increased and policies and education have been revised accordingly. The work roles of dental hygienists have expanded to meet the needs of the treatment and those of public health fields. In line with major policy changes, the educational period has been extended from 1 year to 3 or 4 years, while the mandatory credits for graduation have been established. Licensing examinations were being performed by the local governments since 1948 due to the different situations of dental hygienists in different areas. In 1992, they were converted into a single national examination. The work roles have expanded from assisting dental treatments to health guidance, home care, and perioperative care. Consequently, the number of dental hygienists has increased, especially in healthcare facilities for the elderly. Dental hygienists perform various roles. However, the most essential role is to provide the best oral care services to the patient. The expected role of dental hygienists has expanded in alignment with public healthcare needs and support for the elderly. The government and universities are expected to bring about improvements such as diversifying the channels of education and establishing policies to respond to growing patient needs by cultivating excellent dental hygiene professionals.

A patient, an adultJapanese traveler who had just returned from Thailand, had developed denguehemorrhagic fever (DHF). A primary infection of dengue virus (DENV) wasconfirmed, in particular, DENV serotype 2 (DENV-2) via the detection of the virusgenome, a significant increase in its specific neutralizing antibody and the isolationof DENV-2. DHF is often observed following a secondary infection from another serotypeof dengue virus, particularly in children, but this case was a primaryinfection of DENV. Japan is a non-endemic country of dengue disease. Instead,only Japanese encephalitis (JE) is known to be an endemic flavivirus family. Inthis study, IgG antibody against Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) was detected.JEV belongs to the family of dengue virus and prevails in Japan, particularly inKyushu. Among many risk factors for the occurrence of DHF, a plausiblecandidate could be a cross-reactive antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE)mechanism by JEV antibody. This indicates that most Japanese travelers, wholive in non-endemic areas of dengue, particularly in Kyushu, should payattention to the occurrence of DHF.

The purpose of this study is to provide the general history of fostering dentists in Japan and introducing their new roles. This research was conducted based on the government policy report on dentists and the information published by each educational institution. Based on the collected data, the official websites were used to represent the latest statistics of the institutions. The number of dentists in Japan has increased. The government established the National Examination for Dentists to guarantee the quality of dentists. After the standards for developing questions for the national examination were established in 1985, the contents of the examination have been appropriately improved by revising the standards every four years. This improvement has required dental students to study a variety of subjects for six years at dental school. Since dentists in Japan are required to respond to various demands from the nation; the Model Core Curriculum for Dental Education was developed to teach medical ethics and abilities to ensure that dentists conduct themselves professionally. Recently, the roles of dentists have been changing in Japan.When providing dental services to older patients over the age of 65, dentists and other dental professions focus on maintaining oral functions, such as saliva secretion, bite force, tongue movement, and masticatory/swallowing functions. However, oral function-related services for children are different. In addition to providing essential dental services, dental practitioners also provide special treatment, such as oral muscle training, myofunctional therapy, health guidance, and space retainers to the child patients with developmental insufficiency in oral functions. Dentistry in Japan has undergone numerous changes over the years and has continued to offer high-quality dental health services. Thus, information gained from the Japanese experience may be helpful to dental professions in other developed countries for planning oral health measures.