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Impact of regional dental service availability on preventive dental utilization

  • Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
  • Abbr : J Korean Soc Dent Hyg
  • 2025, 25(6), pp.545~553
  • DOI : 10.13065/jksdh.2025.25.6.8
  • Publisher : Korean Society of Dental Hygiene
  • Research Area : Medicine and Pharmacy > Dentistry
  • Received : November 14, 2025
  • Accepted : December 5, 2025
  • Published : December 30, 2025

Kim Yae-Hoon 1,  Kim Gyu-Bin 1,  Wi Seung-Yeon 1,  Ashraf Khadija 2,  Lee Kang-Jae 2,  Liu Dong 3,  Jung Yun-Sook 4

1Department of Dental Hygiene, Graduate School of Kyungpook National University
2Department of Convergence and Fusion System Engineering, Kyungpook National University
3School of Humanities and Social Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen
4Department of Dental Hygiene, Graduate School of Kyungpook National University/Department of Dental Hygiene, College of Science & Technology, Kyungpook National University

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ABSTRACT

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the association between regional accessibility to dental services and the utilization of preventive dental care in Korea. Methods: We combined data from the 2024 Korean Community Health Survey with data from public databases, including KOSTAT and Health Insurance and Review Assessment(HIRA). The final analysis included 231,554 participants. Preventive dental-care utilization was defined as having undergone dental scaling within the previous year. Access to dental services was calculated as the number of dental-care personnel per 10,000 people in the 252 administrative districts. After adjusting for age and education level, we performed a composite sample logistic regression analysis using SAS 9.4. The spatial distribution was visualized using QGIS 3.40.11. Results: Among participants, 50.6% reported having undergone dental scaling in the past year. In the adjusted model, individuals residing in areas with high accessibility to dental services had significantly higher odds of receiving annual scaling (odds ratio = 1.310; confidence interval: 1.27–1.35) compared with those residing in areas with low accessibility(p<0.001). Conclusions: Greater access to dental services was associated with a higher likelihood of utilizing preventive dental care. Strengthening local dental infrastructure is essential for reducing the regional oral health gap.

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