• Journal of Technologic Dentistry
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.129-143
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• 2000

With increasing number of dental patients, it is also increasing patient's desire to get better medical service. As the concern for improvement of dental medical service quality is growing, satisfaction degree of dental patients is becoming very important. This study was to investigate difference of patients' satisfaction degree concerned with installation of dental labs and the reason. The data for this study were collected through Self-Administered Questionnaires from 284 patients who had visited dental clinics more than two times. The results are as follows: Female respondents ratio was as twice much as male ones. And 54.2% of the respondents were found out to have completed university education. Dental clinics with dental labs scored higher than others in patients' satisfaction and recommendation willingness degree. Dental clinics without dental labs scored higher in patients' revisiting willingness degree. With simple Correlation Analyses it was found out that the most influential variable concerned with patients' general satisfaction degree was medical facility in dental clinics with dental labs, dentist ability to cure in dental clinics without dental labs. There were some discrepancies with other subordinate variables. Through Stepwise Multiful Regression Analyses it was found out that the most influential variable with patients' general satisfaction degree was dentist ability to cure in total and dental clinics without dental labs and medical facility in dental clinics with dental labs. There were also some discrepancies with other subordinate variables.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.145-153
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to identify if dental patients discriminate between dental clinic and dental hospital and the related factors for choice of dental facilities. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted from March 21 to April 11, 2011. Among 430 dental patients who visited dental clinic or dental hospital twice or more in Daegu, 410 dental patients were included in analysis. A total of 73.6% of the dental clinic visitors recognized correctly that the visiting facility was dental clinic and 82.3% of dental hospital visitors did correctly. Therefore, it can be said that dental hospital visitors recognize better the type of dental care facilities they visit. When it comes to choosing the dental facility, there were not much differences between the clinic and hospital patients in this study. Human resources, facilities and equipment, service are factors for choosing dental clinic and dental hospital in order. However, modern dental facility and equipment were more important factor for patients to choose dental hospital than clinic. It will be necessary for dental clinic or dental hospital to develop its own specific service to fulfill dental patients' needs through further studies on factors for choosing dental facilities.

• Journal of The Korean Dental Society of Anesthesiology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.93-97
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• 2012

Background: Some disabled patients show insufficient cooperation during dental treatment, and general anesthesia in an outpatient setting can be successfully administered. To minimize post-anesthetic complications is an essential issue, and strict discharge protocols are required for the safety of the patients. Post-anesthetic follow-ups using telephone calls can be applied to improve the quality of the outpatient care system. The authors evaluated the post-operative condition of patients after dental treatment under general anesthesia. Methods: Total 143 patients and their caregivers included in this study. The patients received general anesthesia for dental treatment in Seoul National University Dental Hospital, Clinic for Persons with Disabilities from July, 2011 to April, 2012. Telephone calls were given to the patients or their caregivers to collect information about the patients' systemic condition and anesthesia-related complications. Results: Among 131 patients with responses of telephone calls, 87 patients (66.4%) reported no discomfort, while 44 patients (33.6%) presented post-anesthetic complications. A total of 20 patients reported mild fever, 10 patients had vomiting, and 7 patients had sore throat. Other complications included nausea, fatigue, nasal bleeding, skin sore, and body rash. Among the patients with the history of epilepsy, 63.6% showed post-anesthetic discomfort or complication (P = 0.027, ${\chi}^2$ test). Conclusions: One third of dental patients who received general anesthesia due to insufficientcooperation complained discomfort after discharged from outpatient anesthetic care.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.717-727
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• 2018

Objectives: This study aimed to provide basic data on ways to facilitate effective communication between patients and dental hygienists, to improve the job satisfaction of dental hygienists, and to reduce the turnover rate among dental hygienists. Therefore, a comparative analysis of the perception of dental hygienists' emotional labor was conducted targeting patients and dental hygienists. Methods: Data were collected from August 1 to September 20, 2018, from 367 participants, including 216 dental hygienists and 151 patients residing in Gwangju, Jeonnam. Using the co-orientation model, their perception of dental hygienists' emotional labor was analyzed through the independent t-test and paired t-test. Results: With reference to objective consistency, patients showed a higher perception of dental hygienists' emotional labor than dental hygienists did, indicating that the former perceived the emotional labor more negatively. Regarding accuracy, there were significant differences in dental hygienists' response to six questions, while the same was observed for 11 questions for patients. Thus, the accuracy of dental hygienists was relatively higher than that of patients. Conclusions: To help dental hygienists perform dental health prevention activities more actively, consistently, and happily, and to establish commitment and professionalism in dental hygienists to enhance national dental health. Additionally, it would be necessary to sustain continuous research interest on measures for understanding the co-oriented relationship between patients and dental hygienists, and to solve the negative elements of dental hygienists' emotional labor.

• Journal of The Korean Dental Society of Anesthesiology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.9-16
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• 2009

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the cooperative levels of dental patients requiring general anesthesia during dental treatments. Anesthetic induction methods for patients were also recorded and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Methods: Total 566 patients who visited Seoul National University Dental Hospital Clinic for Persons with Disabilities were reviewed on pre-anesthetic review and anesthesia records. The cooperative levels of patients were graded by 4 levels and induction methods used for the patients during general anesthesia application were analyzed. Results: More than half of patients(55.8%) were willing to receive the anesthetic induction(cooperative level 1), 18.6% were minimally cooperative(level 2), 20.8% needed physical restraint prior to induction(level 3), and 4.8% was poorly cooperative and induction procedure was performed under an unconscious condition after ketamine intramuscular injection(level 4). There was no gender difference in cooperative levels(P=0.11). Patients over 30 years revealed better cooperation levels compared to other age groups(P<0.05). For patients of level 1, 53.5% were anesthetized in a way of intravenous induction, while 77.1% out of patients of level 3 were anesthetically induced through inhalation method. Conclusion: Many dental patients with special needs were not cooperative to receive anesthetic induction. Additional behavioral support may be applied to poorly cooperative patients for the safe and successful clinical outcome.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.271-280
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• 2017

Background: The number of patients with Alzheimer's disease is growing worldwide, and the proportion of patients requiring dental treatment under general anesthesia increases with increasing severity of the disease. However, outpatient anesthesia management for these patients involves great risks, as most patients with Alzheimer's disease are old and may show reduced cardiopulmonary functions and have cognitive disorders. Methods: This study retrospectively investigated 43 patients with Alzheimer's disease who received outpatient anesthesia for dental treatment between 2012-2017. Pre-anesthesia patient evaluation, dental treatment details, anesthetics dose, blood pressure, duration and procedure of anesthesia, and post-recovery management were analyzed and compared between patients who underwent general anesthesia or intravenous sedation. Results: Mean age of patients was about 70 years; mean duration of Alzheimer's disease since diagnosis was 6.3 years. Severity was assessed using the global deterioration scale; 62.8% of patients were in level ${\geq}6$. Mean duration of anesthesia was 178 minutes for general anesthesia and 85 minutes for intravenous sedation. Mean recovery time was 65 minutes. Eleven patients underwent intravenous sedation using propofol, and 22/32 cases involved total intravenous anesthesia using propofol and remifentanil. Anesthesia was maintained with desflurane for other patients. While maintaining anesthesia, inotropic and atropine were used for eight and four patients, respectively. No patient developed postoperative delirium. All patients were discharged without complications. Conclusion: With appropriate anesthetic management, outpatient anesthesia was successfully performed without complications for dental treatment for patients with severe Alzheimer's disease.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.623-633
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• 2020

Objectives: Since scaling has been covered by insurance, the number of patients undergoing scaling has increased. Simultaneously, legal disputes around scaling have increased. Therefore, this study was aimed at comparing the differences between the perceptions of dental hygienists and patients regarding the scaling procedure and providing dental hygienists with basic data to find ways to reduce disputes arising from these differences. Methods: A survey was conducted on 119 dental hygienists working in Busan and the South Gyeongsang Province and 110 patients who visited hospitals for scaling. Frequency analyses were performed for dental hygienists' scaling behavior and patient discomfort during scaling. The independent t-test and chi-square test were performed to compare the perceptions of dental hygienists and patients regarding the scaling procedure. Results: Polishing after scaling was performed according to 70.1% of dental hygienists but only 29.9% of patients. Oral health education was provided according to 20.4% of dental hygienists, while 79.6% of patients said that they received oral health education at the Dentiform. The scaling time was reported to be shorter by patients than by dental hygienists. Both dental hygienists and patients said that legal action was required if problems occurred during scaling, and the refund standard was that patients needed it more than dental hygienists. Conclusions: There are differences between the perceptions of dental hygienists and patients regarding scaling. Dental hygienists should identify these differences and try to prevent conflicts or disputes with patients around scaling.

• Journal of Korean Dental Science
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2023

Dental treatment for the disabled should be a customized that considers the characteristics and degree of cooperation of each disabled patient. There are additional considerations during implant treatment and tooth extraction in disabled patients. Since some brain lesion disorder or cardiac disease patients may be taking antiplatelet or anticoagulant medications, it is necessary to evaluate whether these medications should be discontinued before an invasive procedure. Precautions should be taken for patients with heart valve disease considering the risk of infective endocarditis, especially during invasive dental procedures. Moreover, disabled patients may have difficulty in following instructions and cautions. There are specific considerations for each stage of implant treatment in disabled patients. In the case of patients who are in the pre- or post-transplant state, it is necessary to assess their general condition and oral disease due to the risk of infection. Since disabled patients with various systemic diseases may visit the dental clinic, it is important to understand their characteristics and treatment process in order to flexibly adjust the dental treatment plan accordingly.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.5-10
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• 2015

Background: Patients were subjected to post-discharge follow-up (by telephone) in order to investigate the potential complications of outpatient general anesthesia or deep sedation that could develop in disabled dental patients discharged from the hospital. The ultimate aim of this study was to establish an appropriate response measure for such complications. Methods: The caregivers of 79 disabled patients who underwent dental procedures under general anesthesia at our outpatient clinic were interviewed over telephone. Necessary care instructions were provided during the phone calls when required. The patient satisfaction level regarding the telephonic follow-up care was surveyed by additional telephone calls. Results: Most of the patients did not suffer any serious complications; however, some reported fever and bleeding. The data obtained in this study can be utilized towards the development of caregiver education pertaining to the ambulatory general anesthesia of dental patients with disabilities. Conclusions: Additionally, we hope that the findings of this study will help minimize the effects of complications experienced by disabled dental patients undergoing ambulatory general anesthesia, as well as increase the overall patient satisfaction level.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.461-469
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• 2021

Background: The global population is aging rapidly, and accordingly, the number of patients with dementia is increasing every year. Although the need for dental treatment increases for various reasons in patients with dementia, they cannot cooperate during dental treatment. Therefore, behavioral management, including sedation (SED) or general anesthesia (GA), is required for patients with dementia. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the trends and effects of SED or GA in patients with dementia undergoing dental treatment in South Korea based on the Korean National Health Insurance claims data. Methods: This study utilized customized health information data provided by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. Among patients with records of using sedative drugs during dental treatment from January 2007 to September 2019, patients with the International Classification of Diseases-10 code for dementia (F00, F01, F02, F03, and G30) were selected. We then analyzed the full insurance claims data for dental care. Age, sex, sedative use, and dental treatment of patients were analyzed yearly. In addition, the number of cases of GA or SED per year was analyzed, and changes in behavioral management methods with increasing age were investigated. Results: Between January 2007 and September 2019, a total of 4,383 (male, 1,454; female, 2,929) patients with dementia received dental treatment under SED or GA. The total number of SED and GA cases were 1,515 (male, 528 ; female, 987 ) and 3,396 (male, 1,119 ; female, 2,277) cases, respectively. The total number of cases of dental treatment for 4,383 patients with dementia was 153,051 cases, of which 2.22% were under GA and 0.98% were under SED. Midazolam was the most commonly used drug for SED. Conclusion: Although gingivitis and pulpitis were the most common reasons for patients with dementia to visit the dentist, GA or SED for patients with dementia was frequently used in oral and maxillofacial or periodontal surgery.