• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
• /
• v.48 no.1
• /
• pp.3-11
• /
• 2018

Purpose: This study utilized a strong quasi-experimental design to test the hypothesis that the implementation of a policy to expand dental care services resulted in an increase in the usage of dental outpatient services. Methods: A total of 45,650,000 subjects with diagnoses of gingivitis or advanced periodontitis who received dental scaling were selected and examined, utilizing National Health Insurance claims data from July 2010 through November 2015. We performed a segmented regression analysis of the interrupted time-series to analyze the time-series trend in dental costs before and after the policy implementation, and assessed immediate changes in dental costs. Results: After the policy change was implemented, a statistically significant 18% increase occurred in the observed total dental cost per patient, after adjustment for age, sex, and residence area. In addition, the dental costs of outpatient gingivitis treatment increased immediately by almost 47%, compared with a 15% increase in treatment costs for advanced periodontitis outpatients. This policy effect appears to be sustainable. Conclusions: The introduction of the new policy positively impacted the immediate and long-term outpatient utilization of dental scaling treatment in South Korea. While the policy was intended to entice patients to prevent periodontal disease, thus benefiting the insurance system, our results showed that the policy also increased treatment accessibility for potential periodontal disease patients and may improve long-term periodontal health in the South Korean population.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
• /
• v.46 no.6
• /
• pp.405-414
• /
• 2016

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a policy change to expand Korean National Health Insurance (KNHI) benefit coverage to include scaling on access to dental care at the national level. Methods: A nationally representative sample of 12,794 adults aged 20 to 64 years from Korea National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (2010-2014) was analyzed. To examine the effect of the policy on the outcomes of interest (unmet dental care needs and preventive dental care utilization in the past year), an estimates-based probit model was used, incorporating marginal effects with a complex sampling structure. The effect of the policy on individuals depending on their income and education level was also assessed. Results: Adjusting for potential covariates, the probability of having unmet needs for dental care decreased by 6.1% and preventative dental care utilization increased by 14% in the post-policy period compared to those in the pre-policy period (2010, 2012). High income and higher education levels were associated with fewer unmet dental care needs and more preventive dental visits. Conclusions: The expansion of coverage to include scaling demonstrated to have a significant association with decreasing unmet dental care needs and increasing preventive dental care utilization. However, the policy disproportionately benefited certain groups, in contrast with the objective of the policy to benefit all participants in the KNHI system.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.411-418
• /
• 2013

Objectives : The quality of service is considered as the difference between services that customers perceive and expect by using SERVQUAL model and the basic data for the efficiency of management of dental hospital and clinics, the differentiation strategies of dental medical institutions and the improvements on quality of service are provided. Methods : Subjects were 469 patients who visited six dental hospitals and clinics in Daegu-Gyeongbuk regions. Questionnaire consisted of five items such as type, reliability, responsiveness, certainty and empathy properties. Data were analyzed using SPSS 12.0 program in this study. Results : Women had high satisfaction scores of medical services in certainty and empathy properties. 40s and higher had the highest score in the type property. 30s had high score in the certainty property. For expected service satisfaction, 30s had the highest score in dental practitioners and administrative staffs. For reuse of current medical institution and intent for recommendation, certainty property and factor of dentist and dental practitioners had high scores. Additionally, reliability and responsiveness properties were statistically significant. Conclusions : Medical institutions should make every effort to get the dentists or dental practitioners have the medical knowledge at a high level, a kindness for patients and trust from patients.

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

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.125-135
• /
• 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors related to high school students' fear of dental treatment and distrust for dentists, analyze the relation between these factors and dental health services utilization, and then apply basis data for providing individualized dental health service. The period of the data collection was from November 1st to November 22th 2013, and the subjects were 300 of the first-year high school students in Daugu, and the final analysis data were total 280. using frequency, T-test, correlation and multiple regression analysis, the results of this study were as follows. The higher the distrust for dentist(${\beta}=0.322$) and the burden of dental visit(${\beta}=0.161$), fear of Dental treatment was increased. The larger the fear of Dental treatment and Past experienced pain level, distrust for dentist was increased. therefore, In order to decrease patients' distrust for dentists, good communication between patients and doctors, and efficient treat plans were needed. As a result, patients should have positive attitude on treat. Through early detection and early treatment of oral disease, effective dental health care services with decreasing the fear of dental care system should be provided.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.154-168
• /
• 2023

Background: Legal regulations and fees have been established in Korea to provide visiting oral health care services to individuals with long-term care insurance (LTCI). However, beneficiaries of this service are very limited. Therefore, to improve the Korean system we propose a comparative analysis with the Japanese system. Methods: This study is a descriptive analysis based on secondary data, such as statistics, laws, and service record forms from Korea and Japan. The most recent institutional documents were obtained through a Google search. The variables investigated were financial resources of LTCI, co-payment structure, monthly limit of LTCI benefits, care levels of LTCI, service providers, service costs, contents of service, and the number of cases of service. Results: In both Korea and Japan, LTCI is financed through a combination of taxes and insurance premiums. However, the monthly limit for receiving LTCI services in Japan is about 2.4 times higher than in Korea. Visiting medical and dental treatment is also possible in Japan. Furthermore, nursing staff can provide daily oral health care services according to dental hygienists' instruction unlike Korea. Oral health care services in Korea are focused on oral hygiene and prevention of oral diseases, while Japan additionally provides oral function screening, patient education for oral health management, and training for nursing staff to enhance oral function, eating, and swallowing of the patients. Conclusion: We concluded that the possibility of visiting dental treatment, differences in monthly limit of LTCI benefits, oral function assessment and guidance, as well as collaboration with other healthcare professionals contributed to the difference in the frequency of utilization of visiting oral health care services between Korea and Japan.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.63-72
• /
• 2022

Objectives: This study was conducted to prepare basic data to propose the necessity and utilization of oral welfare products in the welfare services of the long-term care insurance system, focusing on facility workers working in elderly facilities. Methods: The analysis was conducted on 144 workers working at some local elderly facilities. The questionnaire was constructed by classifying the use of oral welfare tools into 6 questions and the necessity and demand for oral welfare devices into 13 questions. Frequency analysis and technical analysis were performed for data analysis, and one-way ANOVA was performed for differences in the necessity and demand for oral welfare equipment. The statistical significance level was p<0.05. Results: As a result of examining the awareness of the necessity and demand for oral welfare equipment among workers in elderly facilities, the awareness of the necessity of including oral welfare equipment in the items of welfare equipment in the current long-term care insurance system was high at 4.15 points. As a result of analyzing the correlation between awareness of care products and the need and demand for oral welfare equipment, it was confirmed that there was a statistically significant positive correlation (p<0.01). Conclusions: In the long-term care insurance system for the elderly, oral welfare products need to be considered for welfare equipment services. The provision of oral welfare products within the long-term care insurance system for the elderly can provide opportunities and services to select various self-care tools. In addition, it is expected that it will be possible to promote changes in the long-term care insurance system for the elderly and to improve the system in a variety of positive ways.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.23 no.6
• /
• pp.485-492
• /
• 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to identify factors related to unmet dental care needs among Korean youth, enhance the utilization of dental services by adolescents, furnish basic data for youth-oriented dental projects, and improve access to medical care. Methods: The analysis utilized combined data from the basic and oral databases from the 6th (2013-2015), 7th (2016-2018), and 1st year of the 8th (2019) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Results: The factors influencing unmet dental care needs were gender, age, household income level, and health insurance. Statistically significant results were observed in relation to the type of dental clinic, recent visits to a dental hospital, experiences of toothache within the past year, subjective oral health status, occurrences of permanent dental caries, and engagement in orthodontic treatment. Conclusions: When formulating future national policies and projects, it is imperative to consider the factors and underlying reasons for the unmet dental care needs of adolescents. It is also necessary to establish oral health policies and institutional measures tailored to the dental care of adolescents.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.34 no.8
• /
• pp.1460-1467
• /
• 2004

Purpose. This study examined the predictive factors enabling access to children's oral health care at the level of financial barriers, beliefs, and the provider. Methods. In-depth interviews were conducted with 320 immigrant mothers of low-income families regarding their use of oral health services for children aged four to eight years old. Access to oral health care was measured with frequency of planned dental visits, continuity of care, and age at first visit to dentist. Results. The mother took her child to the dentist at a younger age if she received referrals to a dentist from pediatrician. Regular dental visits were significantly related to household income, provider availability on week-ends, and insurance coverage. The extended clinic hours in the evenings, and the belief in the importance of the child's regular dentist visits increased the likelihood of continuing care. The mothers perceiving a cost burden for the child's dental care were also less likely to return to the dentist. Conclusion. The available care delivery system, coordinated medical care, and health beliefs were among important predictors of the health service use. The study findings suggest need for culturally competent dental health interventions to enhance access to oral health care among particularly vulnerable populations such as low-income children in Korean communities.

• Journal of Technologic Dentistry
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.417-427
• /
• 2006

The purpose of this study is to provide basic information about oral health behavior of dental technology department students. Questionnaire surveys were conducted for 925 dental technology department student. Their knowledge and attitude towards oral health and health education services utilization were surveyed. The results obtained were as follows; 1. Ever thought most of the students recognized that oral health was an important health issue, there were more subjects who lowly regarded the level of the perceived self-oral health knowledge than who regarded highly. Female students were negative on the state of their oral health than male students. 2. On the water fluoridation program, 52.2% of the respondents replied that they do know well about the program and 44.1% of them supported the execution of the program. Female students approved of fluoridation program than male students. 3. Number of mean tooth brushing was 2.71 times a day, the most frequently exhibited time of doing tooth brushing was after taking a breakfast or before going to bed. 4. The students who had experiences of visiting dental clinics for the past 1 year were 47.7% and the purpose of visiting dental clinics for the last time was to conduct caries treatment.