A report on the regional oral health centers for the disabled in Korea

Go,  Hyeon-Jeong; Park,  Tae-Jun; Kim,  Eun-Kyong; Jo,  Han-Jin; Choi,  Youn-Hee; Song,  Keun-Bae

J Korean Dent Assoc > Volume 57(1); 2018 > Article

The Journal of The Korean Dental Association 2018;57(1):8-17.
Published online January 31, 2018.

우리나라 권역장애인구강진료센터 현황과 전망

고현정¹, 박태준², 김은경³, 조한진⁴, 최연희⁵, 송근배⁶

^¹경북대학교 치과대학 예방치과학교실
^²경북대학교 치과대학 예방치과학교실
^³경북대학교 과학기술대학 치위생학과
^⁴대구대학교 사회복지학과
^⁵경북대학교 치과대학 예방치과학교실
^⁶경북대학교 치과대학 예방치과학교실

A report on the regional oral health centers for the disabled in Korea

Hyeon-Jeong Go¹, Tae-Jun Park², Eun-Kyong Kim³, Han-Jin Jo⁴, Youn-Hee Choi⁵, Keun-Bae Song⁶

¹Department of Preventive Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Kyungpook National University
²Department of Preventive Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Kyungpook National University
³Department of Dental Hygiene, College of Science and Technology, Kyungpook National University
⁴Department of Social Welfare, College of Social Sciences, Daegu University
⁵Department of Preventive Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Kyungpook National University
⁶Department of Preventive Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Kyungpook National University

Abstract

Purpose
: The purpose of this study was to survey the present status of the regional oral health centers for the disabled. Material and methods : Face to face interviews with oral healthcare professionals in eight regional oral health centers and literature reviews were conducted among eight regional oral health centers for the disabled during 2, July to 30, August 2017. Results : It is necessary to establish more regional oral health centers for the disabled in area where the number of disabled person as percentage of whole region population is high. Also, all the centers appeared a lack of professional manpower including dentist, dental hygienist and anesthesiologist, equipment and facilities for the demands of patients and their guardians. It is essential for the government to improve the support system to regional oral health centers for the disabled. Conclusions : This study can be used as a reference for the countermeasure to make a new policy and activate the accessibility of dental care services in the public for the disabled.

Key Words: oral health center;public oral health center;the disabled;