Factors affecting unmet dental care needs of Korean: The 6th Korean national health and nutritional examination survey

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors affecting unmet dental care needs of Korean using 6th Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination survey(KNHANES). Methods: The subjects were 13,718 Koreans from the 6th KNHANES data. The questionnaire consisted of general characteristics of the subjects, reason for dental care needs by socio-economic status and unmet dental care needs. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21.0 program. Results: The proportion of unmet dental care needs accounted for 27.4% and the main reasons were financial burden and less priority. Male had 0.21 times less unmet dental needs than female. Low, mid low, and mid high economic income groups had 1.27, 1.24, and 1.08 times respectively more unmet dental care needs than high income group. Those having good and average self-perceived oral health status experienced 0.83 and 0.63 times less dental care needs. Conclusions: Socio-economic factors and health status were the important factors of unmet dental care needs and it is necessary to provide a variety of public service of dental care for the low income group.

Factors Associated with Unmet Dental Needs among Single-Person Households in Korea

“…With respect to income level, the lower-income group showed the highest rate of unmet dental needs experiences, with such experiences decreasing with increases in income level; this was consistent with the findings in previous studies [21][22][23] . Considering that 54% of the respondents stated that they did not receive the necessary dental care services due to economic reasons, the cost of dental care services seems to act as an impediment to meeting the needs for dental services.…”

Associations between Dental Checkups and Unmet Dental Care Needs: An Examination of Cross-Sectional Data from the Seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016–2018)

“…In general, economic burden was found to be the most frequent cause of unmet dental care needs [ 16 , 22 ]. Jun and Ryu [ 23 ] reported that Koreans do not visit dental clinics primarily for economic reasons; Moon and Song [ 12 ] reported similar findings. Although Korea has a well-developed health insurance system, dental care often involves dental prostheses (e.g., crowns and bridges), which are not covered by the insurance, and the coverage for implants and dentures is limited to 65 years of age or older, thus imposing a considerable burden on the budget of many people in need of dental care [ 17 , 18 ].…”

“…This study analyzed the association between dental checkups and unmet dental care needs using the KNHANES VII datasets. The rate of unmet dental care needs among Korean adults was calculated as 31.7%, a moderate rise from the rate drawn from the KNHANES VI datasets (27.4%) [ 12 ]. An increase in unmet dental care needs means an increase in the prevalence of oral diseases due to the failure to provide timely treatment, exacerbated over time.…”

“…The survey consisted of questions on the participants’ sociodemographic characteristics, unmet dental care needs, participation in dental checkups, utilization of dental services, perceived health status, and health-related behavior. The variable selection was included on the basis of various previous studies on the factors affecting dental checkups and unmet dental care needs [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 10 , 12 , 14 ].…”

“…That is, almost one-third of the Korean population does not receive dental care despite their perceived needs [ 9 ]. The most frequent reason for this, as found in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) VI, is “economic burden”, followed by being considered as “less important than other problems” [ 12 ]. However, above all, in order to resolve unmet dental care needs, it will be important for patients to accurately recognize their oral health status and receive dental treatment.…”