J Korean Acad Oral Health.  2020 Jun;44(2):. 10.11149/jkaoh.2020.44.2.102.

Analysis of the difference between regions of frequency of scaling and denture use in the elderly and related factors at the regional level

• Choi JS
• Jung SH

• KMID: 2503654
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.11149/jkaoh.2020.44.2.102

Abstract

Objectives
This study aimed to identify the differences in frequency of use between regions and analyze the association with relevant factors at the regional level since the expansion of the National Health Insurance benefits for scaling and dentures in the elderly.
Methods
Data were provided by the National Health Insurance Service and the Korean Statistical Information Service. The dependent variables used were the frequency of scaling per 100 and dentures per 1,000 elderly people in cities, counties, and districts. The independent variables used were dental resources variables, health related behaviors and quality of life variables, and infrastructurerelated variables. The analysis was performed using SAS 9.4 or STATA 13.0 statistical packages.
Results
The annual use frequency of scaling per 100 elderly people was higher in the city or district regions than in the county regions. The frequency of denture use per 1,000 elderly people was lower in the city or district regions than in the county regions. In addition, the frequency of scaling and denture use was statistically significant in terms of the number of dentists per 10,000 population, number of dental hygienists per 10,000 population, number of dental institutions per 10,000 population, brushing after lunch rate, healthy living practice rate, nutrition label reading rate and welfare budget among general budgets rate and traffic index, where scaling showed a positive relationship and dentures showed a negative relationship. However, in terms of frequency of denture use, there was a statistically significant positive correlation in the chewing difficulty complaint rate.
Conclusions
Despite the health insurance benefits, there were differences between regions in scaling and denture use in the elderly. In terms of the use of scaling, it could be interpreted that the association between health behavior factors at the regional level, infrastructure-related factors, and the use of dentures was due to the poor economic situation of the elderly in the countryside along with the number of dental institutions clustered in the city.

Keyword

Denture; Elderly; Regional gap; Regional level; Scaling