Objectives: Oral health, despite its close association with general health and quality of life, has long been marginalized in national and global health agendas. In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted Resolution WHA74.5 and subsequently developed the Global Oral Health Action Plan 2023–2030 (GOHAP) to promote integration of oral health within universal health coverage frameworks. The WHO Global Oral Health Meeting held in Bangkok in November 2024 served as a landmark event, convening member states to discuss strategies for implementing GOHAP and to draft National Oral Health Roadmaps. Methods: This study provides a qualitative policy analysis of the meeting’s outcomes, structured around GOHAP’s strategic objectives and seven key thematic areas highlighted during the meeting. Drawing on official WHO reports, governmental documents, and field notes from the Korean delegation, the study assesses international and national alignment and examines Korea’s level of engagement, institutional readiness, and strategic gaps in implementing WHO’s oral health agenda. Results: Findings indicate that while Korea has established a partial foundation in insurance coverage and national surveillance, structural limitations persist in leadership capacity, intersectoral collaboration, public infrastructure, and international policy visibility. The absence of a designated Chief Dental Officer and a strategic national roadmap further hinders alignment with WHO recommendations. Conclusions This paper concludes by proposing actionable strategies for Korea, including institutionalization of oral health leadership, development of a GOHAP-aligned national roadmap, and enhanced participation in global health governance. The findings underscore the importance of transitioning from fragmented policies to a cohesive, equity-driven public oral health system capable of fulfilling both domestic responsibilities and international commitments.

Objectives: This study aimed to quantify the actual resource utilization and cost structure of homevisit oral health care services using a Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing (TDABC) approach, in response to the growing demand for efficient home-based care for older adults. Methods: An analytical framework comprising 12 domains and 78 activities, validated through a Delphi study, was applied to home‑visit oral health care records. A total of 100 home‑visit service logs recorded by ten dental hygienists participating in an integrated care program in Cheonan City between March and April 2024 were analyzed. Data collected included activity time, consumable supply, travel time and distance, and transportation expenses. A capacity cost rate incorporating both direct and indirect costs was used to estimate activity‑level costs and total costs per visit. Results: Dental hygienists conducted an average of 6.43 visits per day. The mean travel time and distance per visit were 15.04 min and 7.31 km, respectively. Transportation expenses averaged 9,740 KRW per visit, and consumable supply costs ranged from 1,428 to 9,738 KRW per patient, depending on oral health status. The calculated capacity cost rate was 487 KRW/min, resulting in activity-based costs of 66,232 KRW per visit across the 78 activities. When transportation time costs were added (7,324 KRW; 15.04 min×487 KRW/min), the total cost per visit was estimated at 73,556 KRW. Preparation and infection control activities were identified as major cost drivers. Conclusions The TDABC approach provided a comprehensive estimate of the cost structure of home-visit oral health care services, capturing expenditures associated with travel, preparation, and documentation. These findings provide evidence to support sustainable reimbursement models within long-term care and integrated care systems.

Objectives: This study examined dental care utilization among older adults who use long-term care (LTC) insurance and identified sociodemographic and LTC-related factors associated with dental care utilization. Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed the 2019 data from the National Health Insurance Service-National Elderly Cohort Database. We examined the data of 50,606 beneficiaries aged ≥60 years. Stepwise multiple logistic regression was performed to identify the impact of sociodemographic and LTC-specific factors on dental service utilization. Results: The dental care utilization rate was 29.4%. Higher utilization was significantly associated with male sex, younger age, urban residence, higher income, and disability. Notably, LTC characteristics were strong predictors of dental service utilization: home-based care users were 2.26 times more likely to use dental services than facility-based users (OR=2.26, 95% CI: 2.11-2.43).Utilization significantly decreased with higher LTC severity (grade 1; OR=0.22). Dental utilization was higher when a spouse was the primary caregiver but lower when care was provided by paid caregivers. Conclusions Dental care utilization among LTC recipients is constrained by structural factors, including benefit types and caregiving environments. Policy efforts should focus on institutionalizing home-visit dental services and enhancing caregivers’ oral health competencies within the LTC system.

Objectives: Dental amalgam, containing approximately 50% mercury, is removed during treatment and released into the environment via medical waste incineration or sewage. This study estimated the annual mercury emission from amalgam removal in South Korea. Methods: Data on simple restoration removal (2014-2018) were obtained from a dental hospital’s insurance claims and the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA). Amalgam removal rates were calculated and applied to national data. The average amalgam weight was 0.2 g (50% mercury). Results: Over 5 years, 4,668,490 amalgam restorations were removed. The estimated mercury emission was 466.84 kg total (mean 93.4±11.0 kg/year; 95% CI, 372.2–536.8 kg). Conclusions Approximately 93.4 kg of mercury is annually released from amalgam removal, equivalent to discarding 9-18 million mercury-containing fluorescent lamps. Despite declining amalgam use, systematic separation and disposal guidelines are urgently needed.

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the level of job satisfaction and burnout among dental hygienists in Jeju Province and the relationship between them to provide baseline information for the improvement of the work environment and prevention of burnout. Methods: A 60-question online survey was distributed to dental hygienists working in dental institutions in Jeju. A total of 143 responses were obtained. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics (version 23), and statistical significance was set at P<0.05. The analysis methods included frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, Student’s t-test, one-way ANOVA, nonparametric tests such as the Mann–Whitney U-test and Kruskal–Wallis test, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis. Results: The scores for job satisfaction and burnout were 3.26±0.58 and 3.06±0.40 points, respectively, out of Likert 5 points. Job satisfaction was significantly different according to the type of medical institution, intention to change jobs, position, and age. Particularly, participants in their 40s had higher job satisfaction than those in their 30s. Job burnout was significantly higher in the group that intended to change jobs. Job satisfaction and burnout showed a significant negative correlation, whereas turnover intention showed a negative correlation with job satisfaction and a positive correlation with job burnout. Conclusions The factors influencing job satisfaction among dental hygienists in Jeju were a higher education level and intention to change jobs. In addition, the intention to change jobs influenced job burnout. Future follow-up studies with larger sample sizes are needed.

Objectives: This study aims to analyze how the narrative representation of toothache in literary works has evolved in conjunction with the history of dental anesthetics development. By examining literary texts that reflect the discourse of their respective times, this study seeks to investigate the implications inherent in the shifting meaning of toothache. Methods: The study categorized time periods based on the history of anesthetic development and analyzed passages describing toothache in approximately 30 literary works corresponding to each period. The concepts of ‘Embodiment’ and ‘Suffering’ were utilized as theoretical frameworks for the textual analysis. Results: The analysis revealed that in pre-anesthesia literature, toothache was depicted as ‘Pain’itself—focusing on the unresolvable extremity of physical agony and the terror it invoked. However, with the advancement and widespread application of anesthetic technologies such as ether and lidocaine, the literary depiction of toothache shifted. It evolved from a mere physical sensation into a metaphor for ‘Suffering’, where social and personal repression or internal anxiety is embodied through the physical body. Conclusions The representation of toothache in literature has transitioned from biological ‘Pain’ to an embodiment of social suffering, paralleling advancements in dentistry. While dentists diagnose biological ‘Disease’, patients experience subjective ‘Illness.’ This study suggests that the indirect experience of toothache through literature enables dentists to gain a deeper understanding of the patient’s ‘embodied suffering’, thereby contributing to bridging the communication gap in clinical practice.

Objectives: To compare the staining ability of liquid- and tablet-type dental plaque disclosing agents (PDAs) that contain identical dye components, using quantitative clinical indices and qualitative expert evaluations to identify differences attributable to characteristics of the formulation. Methods: Data were obtained through a clinical trial conducted between April and June 2023, involving 40 participants aged ≥20 years (PNU IRB/2023_22_HR). Liquid-type PDA (2ToneTM , Young Dental) and tablet-type PDA (PlaqSearchTM , Tepe) were applied to six predetermined tooth surfaces.Plaque staining ability was quantitatively assessed using the Patient Hygiene Performance (PHP) index, based on intraoral photographs. For qualitative assessment, three experts independently evaluated paired images and selected those that demonstrated superior plaque disclosure. Homogeneity tests were performed to assess inter-examiner agreement, and goodness-of-fit tests were performed to analyze differences according to tooth surface. Results: The PHP index analysis revealed a statistically significant difference in plaque staining ability between liquid- and tablet-type PDAs across all tooth surfaces (P<0.05). In particular, the liquidtype PDA had significantly superior staining on the buccal surfaces of the maxillary first molars. The response distributions among the expert evaluators were homogeneous (P>0.05). Goodness-offit testing identified a statistically significant preference for liquid-type PDA on the buccal surface of the maxillary right first molar (P<0.05). Conclusions Liquid-type PDAs had superior plaque staining ability on the buccal surfaces of maxillary first molars, compared with tablet-type PDAs. These differences appear to be related to variations in methods of application rather than superiority of the formulation. When tablet-type PDAs are used for self-care, appropriate instruction on the application technique is necessary to ensure uniform staining on surfaces with limited tongue access.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between self-rating of subjective oral health, oral hygiene behaviors, and objective oral health status, and to identify factors that determine self-rating for subjective oral health. Methods: This retrospective study examined data from 1,128 patients who underwent panoramic radiography and oral examination based on national health checkups between 2009 and 2015. Oral hygiene behavior was validated using a questionnaire, and the presence of oral diseases was validated through oral examination and panoramic radiographs. The effect of oral hygiene behaviors on the presence of oral diseases or dental treatment was evaluated using univariate regression analysis. Oral hygiene behaviors and the prevalence of oral disease were compared, according to selfrated subjective oral health, using the chi-square test. Factors affecting self-rating of subjective oral health were determined using multivariate regression analysis. Results: Patients who brushed their teeth less than three times per day had a higher risk of dental caries, periodontitis, and missing teeth (P<0.05). The percentage of patients performing oral hygiene behaviors differed significantly according to the self-rating of subjective oral health. The factors affecting the self-rating of subjective oral health were pain and the presence of restored teeth.The presence of gingivitis, periodontitis, and the number of dental caries had no significant effect on the self-rating of oral health. Conclusions Self-rating of oral health was determined by treatment experience rather than objective oral health status and it affected oral hygiene behavior.

The Korean Academy of Preventive Dentistry and Oral Health (KAPDOH) has been dedicated to improving the nation’s oral health for over half a century. However, with the rapid societal changes of today, KAPDOH is also encountering new challenges.Demographic shifts, including a declining birth rate and rapid population aging, are reshaping national oral health priorities.In the 1980s, dental caries among school-age children was a major public health concern; however, oral health issues among older adults are now emerging as a significant societal challenge. In the past, addressing children’s oral health primarily involved the relatively straightforward task of preventing dental caries. In contrast, ensuring oral health in older adults requires a broader academic focus, encompassing the prevention of dental caries and periodontitis, improvement of chewing function, and prevention of pneumonia in older adults hospitalized for long periods in nursing hospitals. Tackling these issues necessitates close collaboration and interdisciplinary research.A defining characteristic of the 21st century is the blurring of boundaries between disciplines. The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has brought about transformative changes across all fields, surpassing previous expectations.For society to continue progressing, all KAPDOH members must remain open to collaboration with other disciplines and embrace change with a flexible mindset. While concerns about AI technology exist, its potential to drive academic progress is undeniable. In particular, AI-based prediction models and diagnostic technologies for oral diseases are expected to play a pivotal role in oral health research.Having attended the conference over the past few years, I have been able to confirm that the society is consistently striving to pioneer new areas of research. This is a highly encouraging development, and I hope that KAPDOH will continue to contribute to the advancement of oral health in the years to come.With these expectations, I conclude my foreword.