• Journal of dental hygiene science
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.115-121
• /
• 2012

The aim of this study was to investigate the correlations between the self-reported symptoms of periodontal diseases and the quality of life. This study conducted its questionnaire survey over the subjects of 450 adults who had ever visited dental clinics among the adults of age 35-65 living in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do region from January 7 to March 14, 2010. The data were analyzed using a chi-square test, t-test, binominal logistic regression analysis in the SPSS version 12.0 program. Among the self-reported symptoms of periodontal diseases, 65% of respondents perceived that 'I bleed from the gums in brushing my teeth', which was the most, whereas 18.8% of respondents perceived to 'tooth mobility', which was the least. Self-reported symptoms of periodontal diseases was associated with socio-demographic characteristics such as sex, age, level of education and periodic oral examination, dental scaling(p<0.05). People who perceived the symptoms of periodontal diseases experienced functional limitation, physical pain, psychological discomfort, disability in diverse domains, and social handicap more than the group who did not perceive them(p<0.001). OHIP-14 scores were significantly correlated with sex, bleeding gums, swollen gums and bad breath(p<0.05). This study showed the self-reported periodontal problem had a negative impact on the public's leading their happy life. Therefore, in order to enhance the quality of life in adults, it is necessary to prevent periodontal diseases and reduce the subjective symptoms.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.703-711
• /
• 2015

The high dental treatment cost has been considered as one of the major reasons for inappropriate dental treatment in Korea. The aim of this study was to investigate the opinions of expansion of National Health Insurance (NHI) in dental treatment fields not covered with NHI and buying private dental insurance. This survey was carried out targeting 266 adults from their 30s to 50s with convenience sampling. The higher orders in stress of dental treatment cost were orthodontic treatment, dental implant, prosthodontic treatment, and caries treatment not covered with NHI. The higher orders in needs of expansion of NHI were caries treatment not covered with NHI, prosthodontic treatment, and orthodontic treatment. The agreement percentages with age restriction in NHI were scaling 57.1%, denture 23.3%, implant 14.3%, respectively. The subjective oral health had impact on the stress of dental treamtent cost and expansion on NHI. Although only 8.3% subjects had private dental insurance, 68.4% of the subjects had positive opinions buying private dental insurance. The correlation coefficients between stress of dental treatment cost and buying private dental insurance were implant 0.408, caries treatment not covered with NHI 0.404, denture 0.394, crown and bridge 0.375, and orthodontic treatment 0.313. Expansion of NHI in dental treatment and development of private dental insurance was suggested to treat dental disease in appropriate time.