Measuring and quantifying the burden of disease (BoD) is crucial for healthcare policy-related decisions. For this purpose, summary measures of population health (SMPH) have been proposed to overcome the limitations of prevalence, incidence, and mortality. Oral health remains separated from the mainstream healthcare system, and the lack of reliable epidemiological data has been pointed out as the cause. In this study, we aimed to understand the flow of international and domestic BoD research related to oral disorders and the direction in which those studies should advance in the future. It is necessary to continuously revise the previously measured BoD of oral disorders and calculate the BoD by performing subdivisions, starting from the development of lay descriptions. Furthermore, developing elaborate BoD measurement methodologies that reflect the complexity of the oral cavity is essential.

The present randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate changes in occlusion of indirect restorations before and after attachment using resin cement according to universal adhesives. This study included patients who underwent indirect restoration treatment at the Yonsei University Dental Hospital between April and October 2016. Universal adhesives requiring light curing and those not requiring light curing were used in this study. Changes in occlusion before and after adhesion of the indirect restoration were evaluated using articulating paper and shimstock as well as through the discomfort felt by the patients. To analyze the differences between the universal adhesive, Fisher's exact tests were performed using SPSS ver. 22.0 software. Of the 39 cases of indirect restoration, 29 were included in the study. A change in occlusion after adhesion of the indirect restoration was observed in only one case of universal adhesive that required light curing. The patient felt that the occlusion increased after the attachment of the restoration, and it was observed that the occlusion point was different from that before attachment. However, the results of the analysis were not statistically significant. Based on the findings, the universal adhesives did not affect the occlusion before and after indirect adhesion restoration using RelyX Ultimate.

Dentists and dental hygienists are major collaborators, as expressed by the concept of "Four-handed dentistry." Dentists are guaranteed their legal duties and rights in accordance with the Medical Act, whereas dental hygienists are currently stipulated in the scope of their legal duties under the Act on Medical Technicians. However, there is a difference between the actual work and the legal work performed by dental hygienists; therefore, the work is dependent on many legal controversies and authoritative interpretations. The purpose of this study is, first, to develop a reliable questionnaire tool regarding the actual work performed by dental hygienists in dental hospitals and clinics, and second, to examine the awareness of the appropriateness of legal work based on the developed questionnaire. The target subjects of the survey were dental hygienists and dentists, and the dental hygienists were those who worked in dental hospitals and clinics as license reporters of the Korean Dental Hygienists Association. A total of 1,294 dental hygienists and 39 dentists were included in the final analysis. In the dental hygienist group, 19 items received the response "appropriate for legal work" in over 90% of cases, accounting for 25% of the total 76 items. In addition, in a total of 31 items, more than 80% of the responses were appropriate for legal work. Among them, the highest was 'Scailing' (97.7%), followed by "Extraoral-Panorama" (97.1%). In the dentist group, 10 out of 76 items showed over 90% adequacy for legal work, and among them, "instrument cleaning and sterilization" was the highest at 100%. It was followed by "Intraoral radiography," "Scailing," and "Toothpick method, TPM" with 97.4%. In the case of dentists, 28 out of a total of 76 items showed an appropriateness of more than 80% for legal work. This study comprehensively investigated the actual work of dental hygienists in line with timely and appropriate social issues and provided reliable statistics in evidence-based dentistry.

The aim of this study was to investigate the level of dental infection control experienced by dental hygiene students in clinical practice institutions to identify problems and improve infection control in dental institutions. This study conducted online surveys targeting 269 dental hygiene students from universities that conducted clinical practice to determine the students' level of awareness regarding dental infection control in dental institutions and the reality of infection control in dental institutions. The results showed that dental hygiene students recognized the need for infection control and education about infection control at a high level. However, only 47% of the students were accurately informed about COVID-19. Basic instruments, periodontal instruments, and implant surgical instruments were sterilized after use for each patient, mostly by the institution, but 3-way syringe tips, preservation instruments and prosthetic instruments were more frequently reused without sterilization immediately after use. For dental infection control to be practiced at dental institutions, it is necessary to establish a systematic and safe infection control system, including infection control education, designation of infection managers, and provision of infection control guidelines.

Many approaches to local anesthesia have been studied in dentistry. In this study, we introduce a new local anesthetic method, "Point-Inject Technique (PIT)", and compare it with traditional injection techniques. The PIT method utilizes both the vasoconstrictive and antinociceptive properties of local anesthetics as well as the application of controlled pressure during injection, reducing the time to complete anesthesia. Fifty patients were selected as the experimental group who were anesthetized using PIT, and the other 50 patients were selected as the control group using the direct injection method with a carpool syringe. The PIT group received 0.25 cartridges of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine. The control group received 1.5~2 cartridges of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine. Both groups were asked to mark the intensity of the pain caused by anesthesia using the Numeric Pain Rating Scale. The average time to recover from anesthesia was 40 minutes in the experimental group and 90 minutes in the control group. Additionally, 96% of the experimental group reported feeling no pain, while 78% of the control group reported having some form of pain during injection. The PIT method reduced both the reported pain scores of patients as well as time to recover from local anesthesia than the widely-used syringe injection method.

Based on data from the Korean Academy for Dental Administration, which has been conducting the Dental Quality Improvement (QI) Contest since 2010, we aimed to provide basic data for the development of dental quality improvement indicators by analyzing the trends of dental quality improvement activities. A total of 54 articles in the dental QI contest from 2015 to 2021 were used to search for frequently used words and to classify the quality of dental care. The criteria for the quality dimension of dental care were first classified into structure, process, and outcome, and secondary classification was performed into patient safety, timeliness, patient-centeredness, equity, efficiency, effectiveness, and accessibility. The frequently used key terms were satisfaction (five times), efficiency (four times), system (three times), and implant (three times). The activities for process evaluation were high at 62.26%, structural evaluation activities at 35.85%, and outcome evaluation activities at 1.89%. According to the components of dental care quality improvement, the activity performed under efficiency was the highest (33.96%), followed by patient-centeredness (18.87%), effectiveness (16.98%), patient safety (15.09%), accessibility (5.66%), timeliness (1.89%), and the equity (1.89%). QI activities in dental hospitals were mainly activities on improvement in structure and process, as well as activities on efficiency, patient-centeredness, effectiveness, and patient safety.

Owing to the Corona virus (COVID-19) crisis, virtual education has been expanded. Accordingly, this study was conducted to determine the direction of oral health education by examining participants' satisfaction with virtual education and educational media preferences. This study collected data from a Naver Form online survey targeting 290 university students across the country, from May 10 to 31, 2021. The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 20.0. According to the data, satisfaction with virtual classes was 3.36 points in 5-point Likert scale, satisfaction factors were reduced commuting time and money expenditure, and the highest dissatisfaction factor was a decrease in lecture concentration. The media platform that most interested students pursing oral health education was YouTube. The oral health education that participants wished to receive through virtual education included how to prevent tooth decay, how to prevent gum disease, and how to brush teeth. In conclusion, it is necessary to develop various media like Zoom, YouTube, and virtual reality programs so that students feel motivated to utilize oral health education and improve oral health.

The purpose of this study is to examine the importance of healthy attachment formation by examining the effects of dental hygiene students' adult attachment patterns on depression, self-esteem, empathy, and career choice, and to present basic data for career guidance that considers individual characteristics. Students enrolled in the dental hygiene department at a university in Daejeon were the subjects of this study, and data were collected from September 14 to October 14, 2020 through self-reported questionnaires. Frequency analysis, ANOVA, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were performed. As a result of classifying adult attachment styles into three types, out of a total of 158 people, 62 (39.2%) had the avoidant attachment style, 56 (35.4%) had the secure attachment style, and 40 (25.3%) had the anxious-ambivalent attachment style appear. Self-esteem according to attachment type (F=26.224, p<0.0001), empathy (F=3.944, p<0.05), depression (F=12.702, p<0.0001), career indecisiveness (F=4.367, p<0.05). Based on the results of identifying the sub-factors that affect the dental hygiene and adult attachment styles of students with depression, self-esteem, empathy and career choice, this study intends to use them as reference materials for career decision taking into account individual characteristics.