• Journal of Korean Dental Hygiene Science
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.51-63
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• 2023

Background: This study involved a geriatric oral care expert who developed the competencies of students in the Department of Dental Hygiene and conducted preliminary research to develop an effective curriculum. Methods: A questionnaire was conducted in the last week of class targeting students who took courses in geriatric dentistry, geriatric dental hygiene, and practice. In order to confirm the educational effect according to the differences in the geriatric dental hygiene curriculum, the differences in students' achievement of major competencies, awareness of the geriatric dental hygiene process, class satisfaction, and ageism were analyzed. Results: Regarding major competency attainment, 'communication competency' was significantly higher in PBL education that combined theory and practice than that theory-oriented PBL education (p=0.038). For ageism, the tendency to avoid older adults was low in PBL education, which combined theory and practice, and was statistically significant (p=0.040). For class satisfaction, the rate of responding 'very high' for the 'class atmosphere' was significantly high (p=0.025) for PBL education that combined theory and practice. Conclusion: The PBL teaching method can be useful as a geriatric dental hygiene curriculum. However, it would be more effective to create a curriculum so that education in geriatric dental hygiene care practice can be combined with theory rather than a theoretical education alone.

• Journal of Technologic Dentistry
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.237-246
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• 2011

Purpose: This study investigates dental health and chewing ability of patients hospitalized in geriatric hospital, and compares the chewing ability for each factor that can be used as data for dental healthcare of senior citizens and basic data for denture insurance for the elderly. Methods: The 101 subjects of this study were selected from 178 patients hospitalized in a geriatric hospital located in Daegu Metropolitan City, excluding 77 patients who were being treated in the intensive care unit and who were unable to communicate. The chewing ability of the patients were measured using an evaluation scale based on foods consisting of 10 different hardnesses. Results: Patients with less than 21 teeth, those with dentures and patients who were less than satisfied with their dental conditions had difficulties in chewing hard food such as dried squid and radish kimchi, and the Chewing ability increased proportionally to the number of remaining teeth(p<0.001), appropriateness of the maxillary and mandibular dentures(p<0.005) and the level of dental satisfaction(p<0.001). Conclusion: This study is limited as the subjects were selected from a single hospital and the authors estimate that various studies will be necessary to investigate the Chewing ability of patients hospitalized in long-term hospitals. The subjects of this study did not receive any dental treatment while staying in the hospital and many of the subjects had bad fit denture or didn't have dentures or did not use dentures, although they have dentures, which calls for denture construction and prosthetics through dental treatment.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.378-388
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• 2023

Background: With increasing interest in health in old age, aspects of oral aging are being considered. The Korean Academy of Geriatric Dentistry recently proposed the diagnostic criteria for oral frailty in older adults in Korea. This study aimed to conduct a cross-sectional survey of factors related to oral frailty among community-dwelling older adults and identify differences in oral frailty status according to age and sex. Methods: Among 217 older adults aged ≥60 years who visited a senior center in Wonju, 206 completed all tests for oral frailty. Among them, data from those with a Korean Version of the Modified Barthel Index score ≥90 were used in the final analysis. After evaluating oral frailty diagnostic factors such as chewing ability, occlusal force, tongue pressure, oral dryness, oral cleanliness, and swallowing function, oral hypofunction was determined according to the oral frailty diagnostic criteria. Subsequently, the evaluation results were compared based on sex and age. Results: Significant differences in chewing ability, maximum occlusal pressure, and maximum tongue pressure were observed between sexes. However, these differences did not affect oral frailty diagnosis. All diagnostic factors of oral frailty, except for the risk of oral dryness and swallowing dysfunction, showed significant differences with age. However, no significant difference was observed in the prevalence of oral frailty. Additionally, this study found no relationship between sex and oral frailty factors using the oral frailty diagnostic criteria. However, it also found that age plays a significant role as an oral frailty diagnostic indicator, in addition to oral dryness and swallowing function. Conclusion: Sex and age did not affect oral frailty diagnosis. However, patients' chewing ability, occlusal force, and tongue pressure were affected by sex and age. Therefore, sex and age should be considered when diagnosing and intervening in oral frailty in the future.

• Journal of Korean Dental Hygiene Science
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.141-150
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• 2023

Background: This study was conducted to verify the effectiveness of geriatric dental hygiene education by developing and operating an industrial demand-based curriculum for geriatric dental hygiene. Methods: Wilcoxon signed rank test was performed to verify the before-and-after differences in major competency achievement, geriatric dental hygiene awareness, and class satisfaction according to industrial demandbased field-oriented practical education, and Spearman's correlation analysis was performed to confirm the association between each factor(p<0.05). Results: In the case of major competency achievement, 'communication competence with the older adults' was significantly improved(p=0.031) after conducting industrial demand-based field-oriented practical training. Conclusion: It is believed that the understanding of the older adults and the practical skills for oral care of the older adults can be further developed when the learners are provided with a practical curriculum that can be used in the geriatric industrial field.

• Journal of Korean Dental Science
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.9-22
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• 2023

Xerostomia is defined as the subjective complaint of dry mouth with or without hyposalivation, which is insufficient salivary secretion from salivary gland. Xerostomia can lead to multiple oral symptoms such as dental caries, halitosis, burning mouth syndrome, and oral candidiasis, which can significantly impact the well-being of patients, especially in geriatric patients who may already have compromised health. Clinical findings of xerostomia include decreased salivary flow and alterations in salivary composition. These changes can lead to various oral health problems such as dental caries, periodontitis, swallowing and speaking difficulties, taste disturbances, halitosis, mucosal diseases, and burning mouth syndrome. Recognizing these clinical manifestations is essential for early diagnosis and appropriate management. Although several reasons and risk factors have been suggested for xerostomia such as aging, chemo-radiation therapy, systemic disease, and Sjögren's syndrome, the polypharmacy is recently highlighted especially in elderly patients. Understanding the etiology and risk factors associated with xerostomia is crucial for effective management. To manage xerostomia patients, a multidisciplinary guideline should be established beyond dental care. Through this literature review, we summarized consideration for diagnostic, therapeutic, nursing essentials for the clinical guideline. By addressing the underlying causes and implementing appropriate treatment strategies, healthcare professionals can improve the quality of life for individuals suffering from xerostomia.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.39-51
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• 2005

This study was conducted to investigate the dental health and physical & psychological health status of the aged. The subjects were 61 old persons, women who were over 65, living at Sahagu in Pusan. The data for this study were collected by using direct interviewing method from October 22th, 2004. The data were analysed by using a computerized program named statistical package for social science including frequency, percentage, ANOVA. The results of the study were summarized as follows: 1. The dental status and the use of dental care institute 1) In status of denture use, it was found to be no denture(45.2%), full denture(35.5%), partial denture(19.4%). 2) In the questionaire of "when did you go to the dental care institute recently?", it was found to be uncertain(41.9%), less than one year(38.8%), 2~3years(16.1%), 1~2years(3.2%). 3) In the questionaire of "what type of the dental care institute did you use?", it was found to be in the dental clinic(80.6%), others(9.7%), dental hospital(6.5%), department of dentistry in general hospital(3.2%). 4) In the questionaire of "why did you select the dental care institute?", it was found to be in the nearly distance(80.6%), relative advice(16.1%), advertisement(3.2%). 5) In the questionaire of "how did you go to the dental care institute?", it was found to be walking(71.0%), bus & subway(22.6%), car(3.2%) and others(3.2%). 6) In the questionaire of "how long did it take to the dental care institute?", it was found to be 10~30min(48.4%), less than 10min(38.7%), 30min~1h(6.5%), 1~2h(3.2%), more than 2h(3.2%). 7) In the questionaire of "what kind of dental care did you take?", it was found to be denture making(45.2%), extraction of tooth, dental surgery, general exam(12.9%), caries(9.7%), denture repair(6.5%), others(3.2%). 8) In the questionaire of "how much did you pay for dental care recently?", it was found to be less than 5,000won(35.5%), 20,000~100,000won(19.4%), 1~3million won(16.1%), 5,000~20,000won, 100,000~300,000won, 500,000~1million won, more than 3million(6.5%), 300,000~500,000won(3.2%). 9) Average score of the subject's physical health status was 4.11 and psychological health status, 4.01 in a 5 point Likert scale. 10) The physical and psychological health status showed the significant differences according to the frequency of eating snack(pE0.05) and snack type(pE0.01). Above findings suggest that geriatric oral health program is necessary in improving the dental health & health status of the aged.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.891-905
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• 2019

Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the current state of dementia-related education for dental hygiene degree programs in Korea, as well as to develop a dementia-related curriculum for dental hygiene programs suitable for the social characteristics of Korea. Methods: The study was conducted between April and November 2018. First, the current state of dementia-related education for dental hygiene programs in colleges throughout Korea and dementia-related education for other health care-related fields were investigated. Based on the initial findings, the basic content of the preliminary curriculum was constructed. Second, based on the opinion of the dementia-related curriculum development committee comprising 10 professors of dental hygiene, the operations of dementia-related courses and relevant details were constructed. Third, these operations and relevant details were assessed and revised based on focus-group interviews. Fourth, the dementia-related curriculum was developed based on the study findings and literature review. Results: The name of the course in the developed curriculum was set as "Elderly Dental Hygiene and Practicum." The course was established as a "major elective," and was offered as two units with two instructional sessions of two hours each. The learning goal for this course was acquiring the methods for understanding and managing the characteristics of the elderly. A consensus was reached regarding conducting the theoretical and practical lessons on some of the dementia-related content. The dementia-related curriculum comprised 10 "required contents" which is to be conducted over three weeks of theoretical lessons and two weeks of practical lessons. Conclusions: With the growing elderly population, the development and operation of the curriculum for geriatric oral health interventions are warranted in dental hygiene education. However, continued discussions and improvements are needed on the extent of educational content, considering various dementia-related symptoms and general geriatric systemic diseases.