보건소의 장애인 구강보건사업에 관한 연구

Abstract

Oral health projects that cater to the disabled should be more prevailing in order to ensure the maintenance and successful promotion of the oral health of disabled people. 70 public dental clinics that conducted oral health projects geared toward the disabled were examined to get a precise grip on their oral health projects. The findings of the study were as follows: 1. 31 out of 70 public dental clinics investigated(44.3%) were equipped with two or more dental hygienists who were professional human resources in charge of the oral health projects for the disabled. As for the age and disability type of the beneficiaries of the oral health projects, adolescents(74.3%) and people with mental retardation(87.1%) benefited most from the oral health projects. Concerning the most common implementation frequency of the projects, the projects were carried out once to three times a week(62.9%). 2. The most dominant oral disease treatment provided to disabled people was amalgam treatment and resin treatment(68.6%), which were the early dental caries treatment. The most common preventive treatment that was offered to improve their oral health was oral prophylaxis (82.9%). As for reform measures for the oral health projects, education of personnels in charge of the projects and their specialization(58.6%) were most emphasized. 3. Regarding factors related to the preventive oral health projects for the disabled, the implementation of oral prophylaxis and toothbrushing education was linked to the age of the beneficiaries. More oral prophylaxis was offered to teens, and more toothbrushing education was provided to preschoolers and adolescents. The age of the beneficiaries and the number of dental hygienists responsible for the projects had something to do with the application of fluorides. 4. Concerning the relationship of the preventive oral health projects for the disabled to the number of dental hygienists, one of the personnels in charge of the projects, the application of fluorides(54.4%) and pit & fissure sealing(56.8%) were more prevalent when there were two or more dental hygienists. There was a statistically significant disparity in that regard(p<0.05). The above-mentioned findings illustrated that in order to boost the oral health of the disabled, dental hygienists who are responsible for the oral health projects for the disabled should put ceaseless efforts into fostering their professional knowledge and ability and offering quality service to disabled patients. Every public dental clinic should be equipped with plenty of professional personnels to enlarge the scope of treatment and ensure the efficiency of treatment and the preventive projects.