KJC Korea
Journal Central

Objectives: This case study was conducted to assess changes in the concentration of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) of older adults following home oral health care interventions based on community care. Methods: The participants were three elderly people with the halitosis. An oral health intervention programs including oral massage, oral hygiene care, and oral muscle training strenghtening were conducted for 12 weeks. Halitosis was measured using an oral malodor-checking device. Results: The program showed positive effects on changes in halitosis. The concentration of VSCs of the first case decreased rapidly from 44.5 Refres Oral Volume (ROV) on pre-test to 15.5 ROV on the first post-test. In the second case, the score decreased from 14.5 ROV on pre-test to 12 ROV on 2nd post-test. In the third case, the score decreased slightly from 6.5 ROV on pre-test to 6 ROV on the first post-test. Conclusions: Oral health care interventions contributed to decreasing the concentration of VSCs and improving the quality of life of older adults. The active promotion and customization of these programs are required.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to verify the usefulness and practicality of the program in the daily life of the elderly by performing a three-dimensional tongue muscle exercise for the elderly to identify the dysphagia, swallowing ability, and tongue pressure. Methods: The subjects of the study were 29 elderly people aged 65 or older living in Busan, divided into a oral exercises group and tongue strength training program combined with oral exercises group, and operated 16 times for 8 weeks twice a week, and the pre and post-program evaluation was conducted in the 1st and 8th weeks. For variable selection, 7 general characteristics, 5 oral health-related characteristics, 5 Likert scale for swallowing disorder, repetitive swallowing ability test for swallowing power measurement, and tongue pressure measurement was used. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS window program 25.0 version (IBM), general characteristics and homogeneity tests, oral health-related characteristics and homogeneity tests were chi-square test, swallowing disorder, swallowing ability, and change in tongue pressure were paired t-test, Wilcoxon signed rank test, t-test, Mann-Whitney U test for swallowing disorder and changes in swallowing ability and tongue pressure, and Spearman’s correlation for the relationship between swallowing disorder and swallowing ability and tongue pressure. Results: As a result of tongue strength training program combined with oral exercise, both relieve swallowing disorder and improve low eating and tongue pressure than oral exercise, and the diff erence in improvement eff ects of both relieve swallowing disorder, swallowing ability, and tongue pressure is higher. Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, it is believed that simple and practical oral muscle function reinforcement products and practical use are needed, and institutional devices to seek oral health promotion programs for the elderly are needed.

Objectives: This study was conducted to identify the oral hygiene status of children and adolescents from North Korean (NK) refugee families residing in South Korea (SK) and to find ways to improve it. Methods: This study examined 88 children in NK refugee families. Their oral hygiene ability were estimated using the Patient Hygiene Performance (PHP)-index for children. The Independent Samples t-test and one-way ANOVA were conducted on the oral hygiene status according to the characteristics of children of NK refugees, and covariance analysis was conducted by controlling for significant variables in the simple analysis. Statistical significance levels were set at than p <0.05. Results: The overall PHP-index of normal, poor, and severe poor were 14.8%, 5.7%, and 79.5%, respectively. Adjusted for sex, age, country of birth, duration of settlement, covariance analysis was performed to determine the PHP-index according to oral examination. PHP-index was 3.55±1.56 when the oral examination was conducted and 4.26±0.98 when the oral examination was not conducted; this difference was significantly (p=0.022). Conclusions: Children and from NK refugee families have severely poor oral hygiene. Therefore, education to improve the oral hygiene status is necessary.

Objectives: This study used the 2018 Korea Health Panel Survey data to analyze factors affecting employment status and income relating to unmet dental and medical care needs. Additionally it investigated measures to reduce oral health inequality among various socioeconomic classes. Methods: Descriptive statistics for the subjects’ unmet dental and medical care needs were calculated through chi-square test analysis, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to identify factors affecting the unmet dental and medical care needs. The odds ratio and 95% confidence interval were calculated for each level. These data were analyzed using STATA 17.0 SE (64-bit) version, and the statistical significance level was set to p <0.05. Results: As a result of unmet dental and medical care needs according to general characteristics, the lower the education level (p <0.001), the higher the age (p <0.001) and the lower the household equalization income (p <0.024) and the smoker status (p <0.003) were, respectively. Factors that have a statistically significant impact on unmet dental and medical care needs were divorce, separation and bereavement (p <0.001) in individuals than in married persons, and being smokers than non-smokers (p <0.009). The frequency of unmet dental and medical care needs were found to be lower in the cases of a high school graduate than an elementary school graduate (p <0.018), and of higher household equalization income (p <0.001) than the lowest household equalization income, respectively. Conclusions: It was found that various factors such as age, education level, household equalization income, employment status, type of working hours type, and smoking status affect unmet dental and medical care needs.