• Journal of Korean Clinical Health Science
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.59-71
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• 2014

Purpose. Medical tourism is recently becoming a new industry with great growth potential. The South Korean government is shifting medical tourism from simple cultural tourism to a high value-added industry with a new paradigm. Methods. The government has been providing positive support and marketing policies since the introduction of the article concerning foreign patient attraction to the medical law in 2009, and various types of medical institutions around the country has participated actively in medical tourism by themselves or in cooperation of government bodies and made increasingly greater performance. Results. This study obtained the following results. The medical institutions in Korea have been making efforts to see more development and profitability in diverse ways, including medical tourism for foreign patients and the advance of the Korean medical institutions into foreign markets. However, many local governing bodies and medical institutions participating in medical tourism around the country have primarily focused on examination and treatment on the basis of foreign patients' visit to South Korea and rarely built a medical network with other countries directly for medical tourism. This study presents a case of building a local medical network and a network for international medical tourism successfully on the basis of the local medical association, CMP, which has been formed naturally in Busan. The success factors for CMP included 1) enthusiasm of the official in charge; 2) the medical level, the service level, and open-mindedness of participant medical institutions; 3) cost efficiency due to executive office management with no costs, no conflicts, and constant partnership; 4) security of non-competitive expertise for participants; 5) local factors of CMP; 6) participation of good agencies; 7) reinforcement of participation networks; and 8) post facto management and local doctor management. Conclusions. Its positive effects included patient introduction and greater profitability on an internal basis as well as construction of the collaboration system with the institutions related to medical tourism and confidence. However, there are some limitations: it is still difficult to predict performance due to the short period of their activities, and it is necessary to continue to observe their constant activities since a single medical association was involved.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.313-321
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the oral health behavior and self-rated oral health of workers on their happiness indexes in an attempt to provide information on oral health planning geared toward industrial workers. The subjects in this study were 294 workers in North Gyeongsang Province. As a result of analyzing the relationship between their health behavior and happiness indexes, the workers who got regular health checkups had higher happiness indexes for both single items(p=0.002) and entire five items(0.012), and those who had their teeth cleaned over the past year had higher happiness indexes for both single items(p<0.001) and entire five items(p=0.003). As for a toothbrushing frequency, the respondents who brushed their teeth more frequently had higher happiness indexes for both single items(p<0.001) and entire five items(p=0.023), and those who had ever received oral health education had higher happiness indexes for both single items(p=0.041) and entire five items. The workers who kept their toothbrushes at work had higher happiness indexes for both single items(p=0.001) and entire five items, and the respondents who could afford to visit a dental clinic immediately in case of having a toothache had higher happiness indexes for both single items(p<0.001) and entire five items(p<0.001). The findings of the study suggest that the preparation of systematic oral health programs is required to boost the happiness indexes of industrial workers.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.107-114
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• 2001

Oral malodor is a problem that traverses history, culture, race and sex. But, up to the present the study on prevalence of oral malodor in normal popualtion is short, especially there is no study on oral malodor prevalence in Korean. In our study, we investigated self-evaluation of oral malodor, self-rating intensity of oral malodor, patients efforts for curing their oral malodor, and degree of satisfaction with their efforts. Investigation was carried out on 368 public Koreans resident in a big city(174 males, 194 females), by method of self-reporting to prepared questionnaire. There was no difference in self-reporting prevalence of oral malodor in sexes(57.5% in male, 58.8% in female), and the prevalence rate was increased with aging. Self-rating intensity of oral malodor in oral malodor patients group(by self-reporting) was ranked in order of slight, weak, middle, strong in both sexes, but the number of self-rating strong female group is significantly larger than that of self-rating strong male group(9.3% in male, 17.9% in female). In question on duration of oral malodor, most subjects answered that their oral malodor was developed in certain circumstances(61.3% in male, 76.3% in female), and oral malodor-developing circumstances was ranked in order of in the early morning, in hunger state, in fatigue, in stressful situations. Subjects effort for curing their oral malodor was ranked in order of more tooth brushing, gum chewing, use of commercial product for oral hygiene, visit dental clinic, and rates of no effort subjects were 15.3% in males and 10.7% in females. The degree of satisfaction with their efforts for curing their oral malodor was very low, only 5.6% of males and 6.6% of females were answered that there were satisfactory improvement in their oral malodor. Collectively, our result revealed that prevalence of oral malodor in public Koreans and their interest in oral malodor were much higher than our anticipation, and that patients satisfaction with improvement in oral malodor was short of their expectations. Considering the life quality of patients suffering from oral malodor, we conclude that developments of more improved diagnostic tools and treatment methods for oral malodor is indispensable in future.

• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.327-336
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• 2011

Reported causes of mandibular nerve injury in relation to neuropathic pain in dentistry include extraction, dental implant surgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery, periodontal treatment, and root-canal therapy. This study analyzed the characteristics of pharmacologic management of neuropathy after root-canal therapy. 32 patients who complain of abnormal sensation or pain after root-canal therapy and were referred to Department of Oral Medicine and the Temporomandibular Joint and Orofacial Pain Clinic at the Dental Hospital of Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea from 2004 to 2011 enrolled in this analysis and improvement of symptom was evaluated after pharmacologic management. Thirty-two patients who had hypoesthesia or dysesthesia at the initial visit were analyzed(9 men, 23 women; mean age: 44 years). The causes of neuropathy were local anesthesia(46.9%), chemical trauma from the sealant in root-canal(25%), endodontic surgery(15.6%), and unknown causes(12.5%). Medications such as steroids, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, and analgesics were took for improvement of symptoms and titrated for a variety of period from 1 week to 11 months. It was found that neuropathy of the inferior alveolar nerve and the lingual nerve was in 25 and 7 patients. The improvement of neurosensory disturbance and no improvement after pharmacotherapy was in 21(66%) and 11(34%) patients respectively. The hypoesthesia and dysesthesia was improved 67% and 65% respectively. These results suggest that symptomatic improvement by pharmacologic management can be possible in patients with neuropathy after root-canal therapy. But improvement of symptoms was influenced by the causes and degree of nerve injury, the periods of pharmacotherapy, and the choice of treatment methods. So, further investigation is needed by quantitative measurement of more variables in more individuals.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.199-210
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• 2006

The epidemiological researches on the inpatients hospitalized at the oral medicine ward have been continuously carried out since 1970, and most researches have been performed by centering around the oral medicine wards of college hospitals. Numerous specialists have been produced after the establishment of oral medicine, and they have been active in various fields. As dental clinics have gotten bigger, the function of oral medicine in the secondary clinics is being brought out. As admissive channel, case features, case composition and otherwise have not been researched for a long time, the related researches should be carried out from now on. Hereupon, this study was carried out by targeting the 100 inpatients hospitalized at the oral medicine ward of Sun Hospital located in Daejeon Korea, through questionnaire. As the result, the following results were derived. 1. The ages of the inpatients in Sun Hospital were $29.21{\pm}11.31$ on the average; 71 females' mean average was $29.63{\pm}11.29$ and 29 males' mean average was $28.17{\pm}11.48$. In regard of school career, the patients who finished high-school course or higher accounted for 78%; the patients' school career seemed to be relatively high. The patients who complained of temporomandibular pain accounted for the highest proportion with 65%. In motivation to visit this hospital, internet surfing was 11%, mass media was 10%, acquaintance's introduction was 38%. The patients, who were hospitalized at another hospital due to the same symptom, accounted for 56%. The dental clinics, which made the patients visit this hospital, accounted for 20%. The patients, who were previously aware that the present symptom should be treated by oral medicine, accounted for 38%. The patients, who were not aware of the fact in advance, were 62%. The respondents of 51% answered that they were aware of the fact one month or below before hospitalization. 2. The patients, who complained of craniocervical ache, accounted for 58%; the patients, whose ache aches affect dailylife, were 22%. Continuous ache was 14% and intermittent ache was 68%, and dull pain was 23%. 3. Life variations were compared with each other by using SRRS (Social Readjustment Rating Scale). In consequence, the variation within 3 years indicated a significant difference in the both groups but the variation within 6 months did not indicate any differences. 4. In regard of the questionnaire on the incidents happened for a week, the ache-group was compared with the group free from the ache. As the result, the number of strain arisen for a week, the decrease of favorite works and sudden fear indicated a significant difference. Pleasant feeling and the decrease of interests in looks did not indicate a significant difference, but came close to the significance. 5. In the questionnaire on impatience, the ache-group indicated higher value but there was not a significant difference. 6. In the questionnaire on the symptoms caused by stress, the two groups indicated significant differences in the item of 'the teethridge itches and feels a tooth rising' and 'the occiput or the nape is stiff.' In the item 'the inside of the cheek or the teethridge are widely peeled off, accompanied with ache and hemorrhage', 'the face has acne or pimple' and 'headache frequently attacks', a significant difference was not observed but the two groups came close to the significance.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.505-516
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• 2000

Chloral hydrate is one of the most widely used sedative agents to control the difficult-to-treat young age group in the dental clinic. We are often frustrated to see the patient still awake and cry with agitation even after far more than the normal onset time of Chloral hydrate. In such a case, the patient has to be rescheduled for another sedation visit with different agents and/or routes which greatly disappoints the guardians. This study was designed to test the efficacy of one sedative regimen that can possibly help the clinician complete scheduled treatment without postponement. We have tried sleep induction with mixed gas of Enflurane(2vol%) and $N_2O(50%)-O_2(50%)$ for $60\sim120$ seconds to 35 patients of those who failed to respond properly to the dose(70mg/kg)of oral Chloral hydrate. The Result of this regimen was compare to those of two oral regimen of Chloral hydrate/Hydroxyzine and Chloral hydrate only Analyses of result on vital signs and behavior pattern were performed. The outcome of the study suggest that sleep induction by a short inhalation of low dose of $Enflurane/N_2O-O_2$ provide dentist with suitable condition for the completion of scheduled treatment in the patient who failed to oral Chloral hydrate. Evidence of adverse effect was not detected or reported during and/or after the procedures.