Objectives: This study aimed to determine and facilitate provisions for the unmet dental needs of Koreans, stratified by time, influencing factors, and research trends, through a systematic review of related published studies since 2006. Methods: this review focused on previous studies published between January 2006 and November 2019 that analyzed influencing the factors underlying the unmet dental needs of koreans. We followed the guidelines set for each phase of research and selected the final 32 studies that met the selection criteria for the analysis. Results: The number of studies has rapidly increased since 2015 (22 studies, 68.7%). the were 68.9% in 2006, 25.9% in 2009, 41.3% in 2010-2012, and 33.3% in 2013-2015 for adults and 27.9% in 2010, 24.6% in 2015, and 16.1% in 2017 for the rates of older adults. the rates of unmet dental needs related to economic factors, were 38.6% in 2006, 41.4% in 2007-2009, and 35.9% in 2013-2015 for adults and 50.5% in 2010 and 41.2% in 2015 for the older adults. There were common influencing factors for unmet dental needs. the rate of unmet dental needs was increased by with female gender, younger age, single marital status, low family income, low educational level, worsened subjective health condition, and the presence of chronic diseases. Conclusions: Standardized studies with more accurate definitions and assessment tools are required. however, our study emphasizes the need for a policy intervention that accounts for the characteristics of subjects to reduce unmet dental needs.

Objectives: This purpose of this study was to examine the trends in interventional research and analyze the contents and results of intervention through a systematic literature review of the domestic research literature, suggesting the effect of an oral care program on elementary school students. Methods: A total of 262 articles were retrieved initially, and the duplicate articles were then removed, excluded after screening titles, abstracts, and full-text articles. Finally, a total of 16 papers were used in the review. Results: The study included 9 articles with the nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design and 7 with the one-group pretest-posttest design. All articles were of non-randomized studies. The most common index of the interventional effect was dental plaque. Further, oral health behaviors and knowledge, perception, self-efficacy, and DMFT index were common indices. In the quality assessment, in the “blinding of outcome assessment” among six items of ROBANS, 12 studies showed a high risk of bias. Conclusions: In order to develop an interventional oral health care program for elementary school students and evaluate the effectiveness, a strict research design and qualitative improvement of research reports are required, and continuous research should be conducted to develop a systematic protocol.

Objectives: Previous studies have reported inconsistent findings in the association between dental diagnostic X-ray exposure and thyroid cancer. This study was a meta-analysis of case-control studies evaluating the association between exposure to dental radiation and the thyroid cancer risk. Methods: We searched the PubMed and EMBASE databases to identify studies on dental radiation and thyroid cancer risks that were published up to September 2018. Quality of studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. A fixed-effects model was used to estimate pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using STATA 14.0. Potential publication biases were evaluated using Egger's test and Begg's funnel plot. Results: From the literature search, we included six case-control studies in this meta-analysis. The meta-analysis using the fixed-effects model found that dental X-ray exposure was associated with 2.34 times increased risk for thyroid cancer (OR=2.34, 95% CI=1.79-3.21). There was no heterogeneity in the data (p=0.662, I2=0%). Egger's test showed that there was no publication bias (p=0.532). Conclusions: This meta-analysis confirmed the association of dental X-ray exposure and thyroid cancer risk. The current results underscore the importance of applying safety regulations at dental clinics to protect thyroid glands during dental radiography examinations.

Objectives: Stress is the cause of several illnesses, in older people, stress may also cause various social problems. The oral health of older adults is closely related to the quality of life, and chewing ability is particularly important for their general health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between stress, the number of teeth remaining, and the chewing ability, which reflects the oral health status among older adults. Methods: This study evaluated the stress level and chewing ability of adults older than 65 years using the 6th (2014-2015) Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination data. The total number of remaining teeth was determined based on the data of the teeth conditions. Results: There was an association between stress and chewing ability among older adults. The odds ratio of chewing function increased by 2.67 times (crude OR=2.67; 95% CI=1.88-3.79) with increased stress. After adjusting, the odds ratio increased to 2.74 times (adjusted OR=2.74; 95% CI=1.88-3.98). Conclusions: Reducing stress may facilitate effective oral health management and improve the overall quality of life in older adults. The findings of this study may help in the discovery of various approaches s to reducing stress in older adults and provide relevant information for oral health education.

Objectives: This study investigated the relationship between oral health and suicide attempts in adults aged 19 years or older using the 7th Korea National Health and Examination Survey (KHANES, 2016-2018). Methods: Of the 24,269 participants in the 7th KHANES (2016-2018), 7,261 adults aged 19 years or older who had an oral health examination were selected. Complex samples crosstabulation (χ2-test) was performed to determine the rate of suicide ideation by general characteristics. Complex samples logistic regression was performed to ascertain the effects of oral health on suicide attempts. Results: Participants with gingivitis were 1.7 times more likely to receive mental health counseling (p<0.05) and 1.6 times more likely to attempt suicide (p<0.05). Conclusions: Oral health is significantly associated with suicide attempts in adults aged 19 years or older, and this emphasizes the importance of oral health management as an intervention for preventing suicide and improving the health of adults.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between periodontal disease, number of remaining teeth with high-sensitivity C-Reactive protein in Korean adults aged 40 and older. Methods: The study used the Sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES Ⅵ-3), 2015. The study sample consisted of 3,883 aged 40 years or older who had completed the health survey and the health examination. Logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the odds ratios of high-sensitivity C-Reactive protein by periodontal disease and number of remaining teeth, adjusting for demographic characteristics, chronic diseases and oral health behavior-related variables. Results: When the demographic and chronic diseases were adjusted, the risk of high-sensitivity C-Reactive protein (hs-CRP) average 1.23 mg/L or higher was 1.36 times higher in patients with periodontal disease between the ages of 40 and 49, but it was not significant (OR=1.36; 95% CI=0.82-2.23). In addition, in the group of 0~23 remaining teeth aged 40~49 years, the risk of higher than the average 1.23 mg/L of high-sensitivity C-Reactive protein was 2.03 times higher (OR=2.03; 95% CI=1.10-3.74), and 1.49 times higher in 60~69 years (OR=1.07; 95% CI=1.04-2.76). Conclusions: This study found that periodontal disease and tooth loss in Korean adults aged 40 and older was significantly associated with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to confirm the association among the health status, health behaviors, and periodontitis according to total, age and sex in cases of adult metabolic syndrome(MetS). Methods: This cross-sectional study used collected data from the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) conducted from 2016 to 2018 with 3,394 adults with MetS aged 19-79 years. The complex samples logistic regression analysis confirmed the relevant factors for periodontitis. Results: Periodontitis was diagnosed in 43.6% of all MetS cases. Diabetes (Odds Ratio [OR]=1.554), abdominal obesity (OR=1.336), current smoking (OR=2.465), past smoking (OR=1.379), and not-using oral care products (OR=1.414) were associated with periodontitis in MetS. In the age of 19-39 years with MetS group, diabetes (OR=5.379), elevated blood pressure (OR=3.975), current smoking (OR=7.430), and not using oral care products (OR=3.356) were associated with periodontitis. In the 40-79 age group, diabetes (OR=1.398), abdominal obesity (OR=1.360), current smoking (OR=2.022), and not using oral care products (OR=1.416) were associated with periodontitis. In the male MetS group, current smoking (OR=3.119), past smoking (OR=1.625), and brushing teeth more than three times (OR=0.743) were associated with periodontitis. In the female MetS group, diabetes (OR=1.733), impaired fasting glucose (OR=1.434), abdominal obesity (OR=1.479), and not using oral care products (OR=1.992) were associated with periodontitis. Conclusions: Improvement in blood sugar control, obesity, smoking cessation, and oral health education, including how to use oral care products in all individuals with MetS may result in improved oral health. In addition, improvement in elevated blood pressure in the MetS group aged under 40 years, and brushing teeth more than three times a day in the male MetS group can reduce the risk of periodontitis. Therefore, public and oral health professionals should emphasize on the relationship between age and sex during the metabolic syndrome management program and share relevant information with patients.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the factors influencing oral health education of adolescents from multi-cultural families. Methods: The subjects were 711 multi-cultural adolescents from the 15th(2019) Korean youth risk behavior web-based survey. Multi-cultural adolescents were defind as the children of marriage migrant women. The collected data was analyzed using the chi-squared test and logistic regression; SPSS versin 18.0 was used. Results: Middle-school adolescents received more oral health education than their high-school counterparts. The adolescents with once-daily and twice-daily teeth brushing behaviors were 0.475 (p<0.05) and 0.784 times less those with thrice-daily behavior, respectively. Adolescents who received oral health education also experienced dental care 1.644 times more than their counterparts(p<0.05). Conclusions: The promotion of oral health among multicultural families and further education through the establishment of school oral health education programs are required.

Objectives: This study investigated the association between oral health and suicide attempts in adults aged 65 years or older using the 7th Korea National Health and Examination Survey (KHANES, 2016-2018). Methods: Of the total 24,269 participants of the 7th KHANES (2016-2018), 1,488 adults aged 65 years or older who had an oral health examination were selected. Variations in suicide attempts with demographic characteristics and perceived oral health status were analyzed using the χ2 test, and the association between oral health and suicide attempts was analyzed using the logistic regression model. Results: The suicide attempt rate was higher among older adults with chewing (p<0.01) and speaking (p<0.05) difficulties. The odds ratio for a suicide attempt was 1.05 times higher among those with tooth loss (p<0.05). Conclusions: Our results showed that older adults with tooth loss had an increased risk of suicide. Thus, it is important to prevent tooth loss, in the first place, through proper oral health management. If tooth loss occurs, appropriate treatment should be prioritized to facilitate functional recovery. Finally, national support is required for older adults with limited access to dental care.

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between frailty and oral health among some elderly community residents. Methods: A self-reported questionnaire was completed by 240 elderly in the Gwangju-Jeonnam area from October 1, 2019, to November 30, 2019, based on convenience sampling. The questionnaire consisted of general characteristics of the subjects, frailty level (Kihon checklist), and Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index. Results: There were 66 (27.5%) frail elderly, and the GOHAI group with a score less than 45 constituted 187 (77.9%), which was higher than the group with a score of 45 or higher. The distribution of the frail elderly was indicated to be higher in the people with older age (p<0.05), lower educational level (p<0.01), current economic inactivity (p<0.05), living alone (p<0.01), more chronic diseases (p<0.01), and GOHAI score below 45 (p<0.01). Compared to those with a good oral health-related quality of life, those with a poor quality of life showed a 3.03 times higher risk of frailty (95% CI=1.291-7.107)(p<0.05). Conclusions: By recognizing the need for oral health care of the elderly through these results and by identifying the relationship between f railty and oral health, it is possible to consider oral health as a predictor of frailty.