• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.360-372
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• 2023

The aim of this study was to identify the current state of pediatric dentists, evaluate the adequacy of pediatric dentist supply and demand, and find out the perception of all pediatric dentists on the current state of pediatric dentists and policy establishment. An Online survey was conducted among pediatric dentists. The questionnaire was subdivided into 'general characteristics', 'number of dental treatments and working days per year', 'proportion of covered services', 'perceptions of supply and demand of pediatric dentists'. Through the Korean Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Services, the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), and the Korean Statistical Information Service, the current state of pediatric dentists, the number of claims for covered services, and the decrease in births per year were investigated. Dental clinics claiming to be pediatric dentistry reached half of all medical institutions, but only 3.78% of pediatric dentists actually worked. 61.36% of all pediatric dentists were concentrated in the metropolitan area, showing a national imbalance. Although the population of children and adolescents have continuously decreased over the past 20 years, the number of NHIS-covered services has shown a continuous increase. Over the past 10 years, the optimal supply of pediatric dentists has been maintained at around 4,000. According to the analysis, 92.15% of pediatric dentists thought that it was necessary to prepare policies and support measures at the government level. This study is expected to be used as basic data for establishing a demand estimation method for pediatric dentistry specialists in the future.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.154-163
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• 2017

This study aims to investigate the utilization status of dental services by foreign children living in Seoul and their level of satisfaction with the treatments. We developed a structured questionnaire with 35 questions, which comprised 14 questions (demographic characteristics) and 21 questions (oral hygiene and dental experience of the child). In this study, the distribution of nationality of 391 participants differed from the actual statistics in Korea. It consisted of high percentage of participants from African countries (23.6%), as well as North American countries (24.1%). In addition, the education status of most parents was above the level of college graduate. Despite the relatively high socioeconomic status of the participants, they showed minimal dental health knowledge regarding the aspect of oral hygiene. Utilization of dental health services and the types of dental clinics visited by them were similar before and after coming to Korea. The participants showed overall satisfaction with the care, but many of them expressed the need for improvement with regard to treatment fee and communication. In conclusion, foreign children living in Seoul require appropriate dental health education and governmental support to promote regular dental check-ups, to improve their overall oral health, and prevent the incidence of dental caries.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.230-244
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• 2020

Background: The objective of the present study was to specifically divide the various work performed by dental hygienists in clinical practice for legal amendments regarding problems associated with conflict between job roles and illegal delegation to establish key basic data for legislation and policy utilization for realization of legal scope of dental hygienists. Methods: The study used work reports drafted based on research methods in the "Second Job Analysis Report on Dental Hygienists" researched by the Korean Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute in 2012 and "Opinions of Dentists on Actual and Legal Work of Dental Hygienists," a report published by the Korean Dental Hygienists Association. Of these, the study focused on conservation dentistry, pediatric dentistry, prosthodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, and dental implant treatment, which make up some of the fields covered by dental hygiene practice, to investigate and analyzed work performed by clinical experience. Results: Analysis of work actually performed in dental practice showed that for work related to 33 items presented in the study methods, the participants responded that they are currently performing such work or are likely to perform such work in the future, although there were differences by year. Investigation by type of workplace showed that dental hygienists working in university hospitals could perform the work presented if they had ≥5 years of dental hygienist experience, whereas dental hygienists working in dental clinics or hospitals could perform simple duties in their first year and performed more diverse duties with greater degree of difficulty after their second to fourth year. Conclusion: The reality that medical assistance during surgical operations and various procedures that is still being performed is no longer legally protected directly contradicts the needs in dental practice, and thus, there is the need to amend laws that are realistic by clearly recognizing the work of dental hygienists.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.75-81
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• 2018

Recently, sedation is routinely used in children who lacked cooperation in pediatric dental clinics. The purpose of this study is to analyze dental treatment cases in department of pediatric dentistry at Dankook University Dental Hospital associating with sedation during 5 years. From January 2011 to December 2015, information about dental treatment cases in department of pediatric dentistry was collected and reviewed. The information gathered included patient gender, age, sedation type, sedative agents, date of operation, and type of procedure. The proportion of treatment cases with conscious sedation for total treatment cases continued to decline until 2014. On the other hand, the incidence of general anesthesia increased gradually. The frequency of midazolam administration and nitrous oxide inhalation sedation increased recently. The use of conscious sedation was significantly decreased when the age of patient was 3 years or older. The frequency of general anesthesia was similar in all age groups. There was a tendency to perform treatment with deeper sedation when the patient was male than female, and when the pulp treatment was performed together with the restorative treatment than not performed. The frequency of re-treatment within 90 days after restoration treatment decreased as the depth of sedation increased.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.763-770
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• 1997

The air abrasive technique is a non-mechanical method by which teeth are treated before restoration and stains and calculi are removed from tooth surfaces using the kinetic energy of small particles. The air abrasive technique in dentistry was first introduced in the 1950's with as instrument called 'Airdent'. But, as the main restorative materials of the period were amalgam and gold, and the instrument's inability to control the flow of particles caused the particles to be spread throughout the clinics, widespread use was not possible. In the 1990's, as these techincal problems were solved and more interest in new restorative materials rose in an effort to preserve sound tooth structure, new developements took place in instruments related to the air abrasive technique. The air abrasive technique produces less pressure, vibration and heat that might cause patient discomfort and facilitates the preservation of sound tooth structure. It also reduces the need for anesthesia and is less harmful to the pulp. Other advantages include increase in dentin bonding strength of composite resin, lower possibility of saliva contamination and maintenance of a dry field. But there is not direct contact between the nozzle and the tooth, the operator cannot use his or her tactile sense and must rely solely upon visual input. Other disadvantages are: the tooth preparation depends on the operator's ability; alpha-alumina particles, after bouncing off the tooth surface, cause damage to dental mirrors; the equipment is expensive and takes up a certain amount of space in the clinic. The author conducted case report using the air abrasive technique on patient visiting the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at Seoul National University Dental Hospital and arrived at the following conclusions. 1. The tooth preparation capability of different air abrasive devices varied widely among manufacturers. 2. It was more effective in treating early caries lesions and stains compared to lesions where caries had already progressed to produce soft dentin. 3. The cold stream and noise caused by the evacuation system was a major cause of discomfort to pediatric patients. 4. As there is no direct contact with tooth surface when using the air abrasive technique for tooth preparation, considerable experience and skill is required for proper tooth preparation.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.87-94
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• 2001

A survey was undertaken among a group of dentists working at private dental clinics to investigate the state of dental care and the level of education and training in the dental care to people with handicaps. Forty four percents of dental clinics take care of one more patients per month. The types of handicaps were physical, mental, sensory handicap and autism. The common problems are difficulty in communication and delay of treatment. Forty nine percents of dentists got education and nineteen percents had clinical experience for dental care of handicapped patients. Most of dentists felt necessity of training program and establishment of specialized dental hospital supported by government for the handicapped. This study indicated the necessity of undergraduate and postgraduate education and clinical training for dental care of handicapped patients.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2004

Dentally disabled person means one who have difficulty in cooperating voluntarily with a dentist for routine dental care. Seoul National University Dental Hospital (SNUDH) Dental Clinic for Disabled has worked for them under outpatient anesthesia concept. The aim of this study was to determine the anesthetic characteristics of the patients attending for dental treatment at SNUDH Dental Clinic for Disabled in order to establish better future treatment plans. The data were drawn from the patients who visited SNUDH Dental Clinic for Disabled from January 1999 to October 2002. Total 93 dental treatments for 83 patients were enrolled in this study. Most patients had mental retardation and the conservative treatments were carried out under general anesthesia. Thiopental and vecuronium were mostly used for induction agent and neuromuscular blocker, respectively. Enflurane, with oxygen and nitrous oxide, was mostly used to maintain the anesthesia. Mean total anesthetic time was $164.4{\pm}57.2$ minutes and mean duration at the post-anesthetic care unit was $106.2{\pm}50.5$ min. Serious postoperative complications were not observed. These results showed our successful anesthetic outcomes without any severe side effect or complication and the needs of more outpatient centers for dental care for disabled.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.97-101
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• 2010

The practice pattern of pediatric dentistry in the university dental hospital has been changing for the last several decades, due to socioeconomic changes, developments in dental materials and increasing number of private pediatric dental clinics. The purpose of this study is to survey the changing patterns of pediatric dental treatment in the university dental hospital and to present the future direction for pediatric dentistry. Patient distribution and practice trends were reviewed based on the OCS (order communication system) records of the department of pediatric dentistry, Seoul National University Dental Hospital from 2001 to 2008. Results were as follows; 1. The number of patients increased up to 2005 and decreased in 2006, and has remained constant up to 2008. 2. The proportion of preventive and orthodontic treatment increased and the proportion of restorative and pulpal treatment decreased. 3. In restorative treatment, amalgam restoration decreased and resin restoration increased. 4. Frequency of sedation decreased in 2006, 2007 and increased in 2008. 5. Frequency of general anesthesia increased up to 2008.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.188-193
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• 2017

Natal teeth that are already present at birth and neonatal teeth that erupt shortly after birth may cause various complications. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the characteristics of natal/neonatal teeth in Korean infants who visited to Kyung Hee University Dental Hospital from 2006 to 2015. A retrospective review of clinical data, including the sex of the patients, chief complaints of the mothers, clinical appearances and locations of the natal/neonatal teeth, and associated complications and treatments, was collected. Overall, a total of 75 teeth were found in 48 patients and 69% of the infants had natal teeth, while 31% had neonatal teeth, all of which were mandibular incisors. Females showed more natal/neonatal teeth than males. Major reasons for visiting the dental clinic were parental anxiety, referrals from other clinics, Riga-Fede disease, and pain during breastfeeding. Extraction was the most common treatment choice; observation and grinding were also used.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.363-368
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• 2001

It is well known that numerous factors influence the light output of curing units, but many dentists are un aware that the output of their curing lights are inadequate. This study was conducted to evaluate the light in tensity of visible-light curing units in some private dental clinics and hospital dental clinics. In order to determine the maximum light intensity of the curing units, lamps, filters and fiber optic bundles, they were replaced with new ones and light intensity was remeasured. Light intensity was measured by employing a digital radiometer (EFOS model #8000, USA). Light intensity ranged in $29\sim866mW/cm^2$ (below $150mW/cm^2$ ; 17.8%, $150\sim300mW/cm^2$ : 46.6%, above $300mW/cm^2$ ; 35.6%). The replacement of the components increased the light intensity, with maximum increases of 94.8% for lamps, 82.3% for filters, 200.8% for fiber optics and 361.5% for all three parts. According to the manufacturer of radiometer, curing light is considered as unsuitable for use with a reading of above $300mW/cm^2$ by the radiometer. Applying these criteria to the present study, 64.4% of the curing units required repair or replacement. The results of this study indicated that the light intensities of the curing units used in dental practice were lower than optimum level.