• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.225-231
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between oral health habits and oral diseases in an attempt to raise awareness of the need for prolonged dental checkup projects and lay the foundation for oral health education and sustained oral health care projects. The subjects in this study were 2,643 workers from 76 workplaces in Siwha Industrial Complex in the city of Ansan, Gyeonggi province, who were at the age of 20 and up. The findings of the study were as follows: 1. Concerning the experience of visiting a dental clinic over the past year, 760 male workers (37.4%) and 237 females (38.9%) visited dental clinics in the past year. By age group, those who were in their 50s (54.0%) visited dental clinics the most, and the workers in their 30s (67.9%) paid a visit the least. The gap between the age groups was statistically significant (p < 0.001). 2. In regard to the time for toothbrushing by age group, the workers in their 20s (64.6%) made up the largest group that brushed their teeth before breakfast, and those who were in their 60s and up constituted the greatest group that did toothbrushing after breakfast. The workers in their 20s brushed their teeth the least, as the rates of the workers of this age group who did toothbrushing after breakfast and dinner respectively stood at 64.0 percent and 54.5 percent. The disparities between the age groups were statistically significant (p < 0.001). 3. As for scaling experience for the past year, 302(46.0%) out of the workers who got their teeth scaled in the past year had periodontal diseases, and 1,600(80.6%) out of those who didn't suffered from periodontal diseases. The gap between them was statistically significant (p < 0.001). 4. Regarding the relationship of subjective oral health state to dental caries among the workers without dental caries, the largest group that numbered 327(54.1%) considered themselves to be in good oral health. In the event of the workers with dental caries, the greatest group that numbered 708(75.5%) found themselves to have one or more carious tooth(teeth). The disparity between them was statistically significant (p < 0.001). 5. As for connections between dietary habits and dental caries, those who had dental caries (2.29) showed a greater preference for snack than the others who hadn't (2.21). The preference for snack made a bigger statistically significant difference to dental caries than the other dietary habits (p < 0.05).