Objectives: Moral sensitivity and moral judgment are key factors influencing ethical decision-making in the clinical practice of dental hygienists. This study utilized a dilemma discussion in a dental hygiene ethics class to assess changes in the moral sensitivity and moral judgment of students and to examine the implications of these changes. Methods: The study included 46 sophomore students from the Department of Dental Hygiene who were enrolled in a dental hygiene ethics course during the second semester of 2021. The class employed the dilemma discussion method in the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) model-based Development Beyond Learning (DBL) dental hygiene ethics curriculum. This approach aimed to help dental hygienists develop professional ethics and make sound ethical judgments. To evaluate the degree of change in moral perception before and after the dilemma discussion class, a predesigned questionnaire was administered twice—once in the first week and again in the 15th week of the course. Results: Moral sensitivity increased following the dental hygiene ethics course. Although moral judgement did no show a statistically significant change, students demonstrated a noticeable shift toward deeper consideration in their ethical reasoning. Conclusions Dental hygiene programs should explore diverse instructional designs and activities to foster ethical competencies. This study provides insights that may contribute to improving the ethical thinking skills of future dental hygienists.

Objectives: Moral sensitivity and moral judgment are key factors influencing ethical decision-making in the clinical practice of dental hygienists. This study utilized a dilemma discussion in a dental hygiene ethics class to assess changes in the moral sensitivity and moral judgment of students and to examine the implications of these changes. Methods: The study included 46 sophomore students from the Department of Dental Hygiene who were enrolled in a dental hygiene ethics course during the second semester of 2021. The class employed the dilemma discussion method in the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) model-based Development Beyond Learning (DBL) dental hygiene ethics curriculum. This approach aimed to help dental hygienists develop professional ethics and make sound ethical judgments. To evaluate the degree of change in moral perception before and after the dilemma discussion class, a predesigned questionnaire was administered twice—once in the first week and again in the 15th week of the course. Results: Moral sensitivity increased following the dental hygiene ethics course. Although moral judgement did no show a statistically significant change, students demonstrated a noticeable shift toward deeper consideration in their ethical reasoning. Conclusions Dental hygiene programs should explore diverse instructional designs and activities to foster ethical competencies. This study provides insights that may contribute to improving the ethical thinking skills of future dental hygienists.

Objectives: Moral sensitivity and moral judgment are key factors influencing ethical decision-making in the clinical practice of dental hygienists. This study utilized a dilemma discussion in a dental hygiene ethics class to assess changes in the moral sensitivity and moral judgment of students and to examine the implications of these changes. Methods: The study included 46 sophomore students from the Department of Dental Hygiene who were enrolled in a dental hygiene ethics course during the second semester of 2021. The class employed the dilemma discussion method in the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) model-based Development Beyond Learning (DBL) dental hygiene ethics curriculum. This approach aimed to help dental hygienists develop professional ethics and make sound ethical judgments. To evaluate the degree of change in moral perception before and after the dilemma discussion class, a predesigned questionnaire was administered twice—once in the first week and again in the 15th week of the course. Results: Moral sensitivity increased following the dental hygiene ethics course. Although moral judgement did no show a statistically significant change, students demonstrated a noticeable shift toward deeper consideration in their ethical reasoning. Conclusions Dental hygiene programs should explore diverse instructional designs and activities to foster ethical competencies. This study provides insights that may contribute to improving the ethical thinking skills of future dental hygienists.

Objectives: Moral sensitivity and moral judgment are key factors influencing ethical decision-making in the clinical practice of dental hygienists. This study utilized a dilemma discussion in a dental hygiene ethics class to assess changes in the moral sensitivity and moral judgment of students and to examine the implications of these changes. Methods: The study included 46 sophomore students from the Department of Dental Hygiene who were enrolled in a dental hygiene ethics course during the second semester of 2021. The class employed the dilemma discussion method in the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) model-based Development Beyond Learning (DBL) dental hygiene ethics curriculum. This approach aimed to help dental hygienists develop professional ethics and make sound ethical judgments. To evaluate the degree of change in moral perception before and after the dilemma discussion class, a predesigned questionnaire was administered twice—once in the first week and again in the 15th week of the course. Results: Moral sensitivity increased following the dental hygiene ethics course. Although moral judgement did no show a statistically significant change, students demonstrated a noticeable shift toward deeper consideration in their ethical reasoning. Conclusions Dental hygiene programs should explore diverse instructional designs and activities to foster ethical competencies. This study provides insights that may contribute to improving the ethical thinking skills of future dental hygienists.

Objectives: With the rapid aging of the Korean population, interest in oral health is increasing among older adults. However, information and communication technology (ICT)-based programs for oral function rehabilitation exercises (OFRE), that are closely related to the systemic and cognitive health of older adults, are limited. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the applicability of ICT-based OFRE programs by identifying the demand from elder-care facility workers, who are the main providers, and to establish a basic plan for system development. Methods: This study was conducted using a Google Form questionnaire for approximately one month in September 2022 for workers at a day-and-night care center in Korea. Frequency analysis and chi-square tests were performed to identify the oral-health perceptions of center workers, and logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the need for ICT-based OFRE programs. Results: First, in patients undergoing oral function-related activities at the center, the need for OFRE was high, especially for mastication exercises (P<0.05). Second, participants with experience in using ICT-based rehabilitation programs were more positive about the usefulness of the new programs (P<0.001). Third, ease of use and simplicity of the program content were highly desirable, and group delivery was preferred. Conclusions This study confirmed the usefulness of ICT-based OFRE programs in facilities for older adults. The study findings are expected to be a basis for further development.

Background/Aims: We used next-generation sequencing (NGS) to analyze resistance-associated substitutions (RASs) and retreatment outcomes in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection who failed direct-acting antiviral agent (DAA) treatment in South Korea. Methods: Using prospectively collected data from the Korean HCV cohort study, we recruited 36 patients who failed DAA treatment in 10 centers between 2007 and 2020; 29 blood samples were available from 24 patients. RASs were analyzed using NGS. Results: RASs were analyzed for 13 patients with genotype 1b, 10 with genotype 2, and one with genotype 3a. The unsuccessful DAA regimens were daclatasvir+asunaprevir (n=11), sofosbuvir+ribavirin (n=9), ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (n=3), and glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (n=1). In the patients with genotype 1b, NS3, NS5A, and NS5B RASs were detected in eight, seven, and seven of 10 patients at baseline and in four, six, and two of six patients after DAA failure, respectively. Among the 10 patients with genotype 2, the only baseline RAS was NS3 Y56F, which was detected in one patient. NS5A F28C was detected after DAA failure in a patient with genotype 2 infection who was erroneously treated with daclatasvir+asunaprevir. After retreatment, 16 patients had a 100% sustained virological response rate. Conclusions NS3 and NS5A RASs were commonly present at baseline, and there was an increasing trend of NS5A RASs after failed DAA treatment in genotype 1b. However, RASs were rarely present in patients with genotype 2 who were treated with sofosbuvir+ribavirin. Despite baseline or treatment-emergent RASs, retreatment with pan-genotypic DAA was highly successful in Korea, so we encourage active retreatment after unsuccessful DAA treatment.

Objectives: This study aims to understand the perceptions regarding preventive dental services among dental professionals. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with three groups of dental professionals―dentists, dental hygienists, and dental hygienists that specialized in preventive service―who were selected using a convenience sampling method. Results: First, there was limited awareness among dentists regarding the need for preventive care, because of the treatment-oriented philosophy and scarcity of preventive care success models. Second, dental hygienists commented that there was a lack of the person in charge and systematic process for preventive services. It would not help when they decided to change working place even though they had high anxiety working for preventive care. However, both these professionals agreed that preventive treatment is important as the core of care and that it was important to develop various improvement methods to promote preventive services. Conclusions To activate preventive services in dental clinics, it is essential to improve the operating system and encourage dental professionals to realize the importance of preventive services.

Background: and Purpose: In this study we aimed to find the association between neuropsychological performance and body mass index (BMI) in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). In addition, we investigated the effects of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype in the relationship between the BMI and cognition in MCI. Methods: We enrolled a cohort of 3,038 subjects with MCI aged 65–90 from the Clinical Research Center for Dementia of South Korea and a dementia cohort of the Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital. MCI patients were classified into three subgroups according to the Asian standard of BMI. We compared cognitive performances between groups by one-way analysis of variance. To investigate the effects of the APOE genotype, we used multivariate linear regression models after adjusting for possible confounders. Results: Even though normal BMI groups were younger, had more females, and had less comorbidities, the higher BMI groups had better cognitive functions. Among subjects with APOE ε4 carriers, there was a positive relationship between the BMI and the memory task alone. Conclusions Our findings suggested that higher BMI in patients with MCI were associated with better cognitive performance. The effects of the APOE ε4 genotype in the associations between BMI and cognition were distinguishing. Therefore, according to physical status, APOE ε4 genotype-specific strategies in the assessments and treatments may be necessary in elderly patients with MCI.

Background/Aims: The risk factors for the development of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors associated with PBC in Korea through a questionnaire survey. Methods: Consecutively enrolled 103 PBC patients from six referral hospitals and 100 age- and sex-matched community controls participated in this study. A standardized questionnaire survey including demographics, lifestyle, individual and familial medical history and reproductive history was prospectively collected and analyzed. Results: The PBC patients had a mean age of 58.3 years and a female proportion of 86.4%. The age- and sex-matched controls had a similar educational level and economic status to the PBC patients. Among the lifestyle factors, the multivariable analysis showed smoking including both first-hand and second-hand (odds ratio [OR], 2.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06 to 3.93), history of autoimmune diseases (OR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.06 to 6.35), and family history of PBC (OR, 17.76; 95% CI, 1.77 to 2,418.74) were significantly associated with PBC, whereas alcohol intake was negatively associated with PBC. Among reproductive factors, the number of induced abortions was significantly associated with PBC, while the number of full-term deliveries was negatively associated with PBC. Conclusions A family history of PBC, accompanying autoimmune diseases, and smoking were significantly associated with PBC. More induced abortions and less full-term deliveries were associated with PBC in women. In contrast, mild to moderate alcohol intake was negatively associated with PBC. Further studies are warranted to validate the results of this study and to search for clues about the pathogenesis of PBC.