A Review of Physical Assessment Criteria for Disability Evaluation in Dentistry
10.14476/jomp.2025.50.4.117
- Author:
Jung-Yong JIN
1
;
Won JUNG
;
Kyung-Eun LEE
;
Bong-Jik SUH
Author Information
1. Department of Oral Medicine, Jeonbuk National University Dental Hospital, Jeonju, Korea
- Publication Type:Review Article
- From:
Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
2025;50(4):117-125
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Physical assessment constitutes a medico-legal procedure through which physicians evaluate impairments and disabilities arising from injury or disease, thereby assisting judicial decisions. In Korea, principal assessment standards include National Compensation Act, Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, the McBride Disability Evaluation, the American Medical Association (AMA) guides, and the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences (KAMS) guides. The McBride criteria are now considered outdated, and the AMA guides focus exclusively on physical impairment without incorporating disability. To overcome these limitations, KAMS developed its own guidelines in 2011 and revised them in 2016, thereby enabling the evaluation of both impairment and loss of earning capacity. In 2020, the judiciary endorsed the KAMS guides as the unified national reference.However, dental disabilities were excluded from that framework. To address this gap, the Korean Academy of Dental Sciences introduced criteria in 2018 subdividing impairments into masticatory, facial and speech functions; yet their adoption remain limited due to methodological constraints. This review surveys existing medico-legal assessment standards, analyses their application in dentistry and argues for the development of a unified, clinically valid system for dental physical assessment.
