Effect of Triweekly Interdental Brushing on Bleeding Reduction in Adults: A Six-Month Retrospective Study

The development and validation of a Korean version of the oral hygiene-related self-efficacy tool

PURPOSE

Self-efficacy is an important factor in the management of chronic oral diseases. This study aimed to develop a Korean version of a self-efficacy tool related to personal oral hygiene management, and verify its validity and reliability.

METHODS

This study evaluated the validity and reliability of a Korean version of the oral health-related self-efficacy measurement tool (OHSE-K). The sub-factors of this self-efficacy tool are tooth brushing, interdental hygiene management, and dental visits. The original items were translated into Korean, and their content validity was confirmed. Initially, a preliminary survey was conducted, followed by the main survey. The main survey comprised 19 content-verified items. The validity and reliability of the main survey were evaluated through repeated exploratory factor analyses. A randomly selected sample of Korean adults, aged 19 years or older, completed the OHSE-K online between May 10 and June 2, 2023. The study recruited 400 adults for the preliminary survey. Data were analyzed using PASW 25.0.

RESULTS

The OHSE-K demonstrated a high level of overall reliability (Cronbach's α=0.891). Exploratory factor analysis revealed 3 significant factors: tooth-brushing self-efficacy, interdental hygiene management self-efficacy, and dental visit self-efficacy, with a cumulative explanation rate of 65.114%. The criterion validity results indicated that oral healthcare awareness and behavior, as well as unmet dental treatment needs, were significant (P<0.05). Additionally, the OHSE-K scores showed significant correlations with all 3 sub-factors (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The OHSE-K is a reliable tool. Our results demonstrated its validity and reliability.

Inequality in dental flossing behavior among Korean adults based on household income levels

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to estimate the association between household income and dental flossing.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study investigated the impact of household income on flossing among 9,391 adults aged 30+ with ≥20 natural teeth, utilizing data from the seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016-2018). Outcome measures included flossing (yes/no), with income categorized into 4 levels: lowest, medium to low, medium to high, and highest. Logistic regression, adjusted for age, gender, brushing frequency, recent dental exams, periodontitis, smoking, and alcohol use, was employed to evaluate the influence of socioeconomic status on oral hygiene practices.

RESULTS

In the highest income group, flossing was 62.6% more prevalent than in the lowest income group (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.63; 95% CI, 1.27 to 2.08). The strongest association between income levels and flossing was observed in individuals aged ≥70 years (aOR, 3.64; 95% CI, 1.86 to 7.11), with a decreasing strength of association in the 60s (aOR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.05 to 2.84) and 50s age groups (aOR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.07 to 2.68). Higher-income women demonstrated a higher frequency of flossing than their lower-income counterparts (aOR, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.24 to 2.23). Higher-income individuals without periodontitis were more likely to floss (aOR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.23 to 2.18), and among those with periodontitis, flossing was significantly associated only with the highest income category (aOR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.10 to 2.44).

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this study indicate a significant correlation between higher household income levels and an increased prevalence of flossing.

Independent factors that attenuate the effectiveness of fracture rehabilitation in improving activities of daily living in female patients aged 80 years and above

BACKGROUND

Some factors, such as cognitive impairment, can attenuate the effectiveness of rehabilitation. We hypothesized that handgrip strength (HGS) might be one of the independent factors affecting the activities of daily living (ADL) improvements in patients with fractures.

AIMS

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between HGS and improvement in ADL during rehabilitation, and to assess the factors affecting ADL improvement among older patients ≥ 80 years with fractures.

METHODS

This longitudinal study was conducted at a rehabilitation hospital among 427 females aged ≥ 80 years, who underwent fracture rehabilitation. Patients were divided into two groups based on their HGS. Analysis of comparison between the two groups and multivariate linear regression analyses were performed with respect to functional independence measure (FIM) gain during rehabilitation.

RESULTS

FIM gain was significantly lower in the weak HGS group (31.5 [20.0-41.0]) than in the strong HGS group (35.0 [27.5-47.0], p = 0.011). In multivariate linear regression analyses, HGS was significantly associated with FIM gain (coefficient: 0.683, 95% confidence intervals 0.302-1.064, p < 0.001). In addition, Mini-Mental State Examination, necessity of assistance in ADL before injury, length of hospital stays for rehabilitation, and period of rehabilitation per day were significantly associated with FIM gain.

CONCLUSIONS

Weak HGS, cognitive impairment, and necessity of assistance in ADL before injury could be independent factors that attenuate the effectiveness of fracture rehabilitation to improve ADL in old female patients. We encourage such patients to undertake more rehabilitation for improving their ADL, and not refrain from rehabilitation due to old age and fracture.