Regional factors affecting dental care use in Korea

Abstract

Aim or Purpose: In this study, we selected regional factors that determine medical vulnerability in Korea and confirmed which regional factors actually affect the use of dental care such as implants, dentures, and scaling in Korea. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted after being confirmed by the Gangneung-Wonju National University Bioethics Committee as being exempt from deliberation. This study was conducted in 229 cities in Korea. 27 indicators of regional population, economy and environment, transportation and geography, dental resources, accessibility, and oral health level based on national statistical data were converted into T-score. And then the association between these regional indicators and dental care use by region were analyzed by multiple linear regression model using PASW Statistics 25.0. Results: The use of implants and dentures was higher in areas with higher local income taxes and with more dental clinics per area (p<0.001). The use of scaling increased as the adult population ratio increased, local income tax, and the number of dental clinics per area increased (p<0.05). The use of dentures tended to decrease as the number of people unable to access dental clinics within 40 minutes increased (p<0.05). Conclusion: The vulnerability of the region affects the use of dental care at various levels and determines the level of oral health of the local residents. In order to resolve oral health inequality in vulnerable areas, public dental care policies that utilize the expansion and relocation of dental personnel and the private dental care system should be developed based on an understanding of the vulnerabilities of dental care in the region.