Hong DJ, et al. Infect Chemother. 2015 Jun;47(2):81-97. https://doi.org/10.3947/ic.2015.47.2.81

OBJECTIVES:We investigated the risk of dementia in older adults with chronic periodontitis according to the severity of periodontitis.METHODS: Data on patients with chronic periodontitis were extracted from the National Health Insurance Service-Senior cohort database from 2002 to 2014. Among 52,728 subjects eligible for inclusion, 11,953 subjects had newly diagnosed mild chronic periodontitis (MCP), and 40,775 subjects had newly diagnosed severe chronic periodontitis (SCP). Two 1:1 propensity score matched cohorts were created with 8,624 patients each in the MCP and SCP groups. To analyze the risk of dementia, a Cox proportional-hazard model was used to calculate hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).RESULTS: In the Kaplan-Meier curve, the disease-free probability was significantly lower in the SCP group than in the MCP group (p for log-rank=0.001). In the multivariable-adjusted model, the HR for the occurrence of dementia in the SCP group compared to the MCP group was 1.15 (95% CI, 1.04 to 1.27; p=0.009). A subgroup analysis revealed a significant association between dementia and the severity of periodontitis, especially in subjects who were male, aged ≥70 years, and had comorbidities.CONCLUSIONS: Reducing the severity of chronic periodontitis can help to reduce the risk of dementia. Therefore, it is necessary to aggressively conduct early dementia-prevention programs for males under the age of 70 that include dental health to prevent the progression of periodontitis from mild to severe.

Bae IK, et al. Infect Chemother. 2015 Sep;47(3):167-174. https://doi.org/10.3947/ic.2015.47.3.167

The aim of this study was to examine the trend of average frequency of toothbrushing per day according to the sociodemographic characteristics using the 5th, 6th, and 7th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) data for 9 years; from 2010 to 2018. It intends to understand the state of toothbrushing practices in South Korea, and to provide basic data for promoting toothbrushing practices. Data from the 5th, 6th, and 7th KNHANESs conducted by the Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency each year was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 26.0 (IBM Co., Armonk, NY, USA). Tableau version 2020.1 was used for the graphs and geographic information system (GIS). The significance level of α was set at 0.05 for testing. In all analyses, the complex sampling analysis method with stratification variables, cluster variables, and weights was applied, and the complex sample linear regression analysis. The average frequency of toothbrushing per day was higher in women for all the years; these women belonged to the age group under 65 and the employed group. The average frequency of toothbrushing per day was lower in the married, elementary school graduate, part-time job, and low-income groups for all years. The demographic and social factors affecting the number of toothbrushing practices per day were gender, education level, income level, and work type. After analyzing the average frequency of toothbrushing per day in each of the cities and provinces, Gangwon-do and Jeonbuk showed the highest increase in the frequency of toothbrushing in 2018 compared to 2010, whereas Incheon showed the lowest increase. From the above results, the average frequency of toothbrushing per day was lower in males, those with a low education level, the unemployed, and those in the rural area for a period of 9 years. Therefore, in-depth oral health promotion projects and national benefit policies should be considered for effective toothbrushing education by identifying individuals who do not brush their teeth.

This study aimed to verify and to validate the correlation between, and validate the assessment of, bacterial activity and the distribution of tongue coating, by analyzing quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF) images for the diagnosis of oral malodor. Oral malodor was measured using the Twin Breasor II, and bacterial activity and the distribution of tongue coating were investigated using QLF images. Bacterial activity and the distribution of tongue coating were quantitatively analyzed by dividing the tongue into six areas using the TB01 1.05 software. ROC curves were generated using MedCalc^® software to validate the diagnosis of oral malodor, the testing of bacterial activity, and the distribution of tongue coating. Bacterial activity and the distribution of tongue coating showed a very strong association with each other (r = 0.937, p < 0.01), and were significantly higher in the oral malodor group (p < 0.05). The distribution of tongue coating was highly correlated with H₂S (r = 0.223, p < 0.01) but not associated with CH₃SH. Sensitivity, specificity, and the area under the curve confirmed the high accuracy of this method in assessing bacterial activity and the distribution of tongue coating in the diagnosis of oral malodor. Since QLF images provide significant accuracy during quantitative analysis in the identification of bacterial activity and the distribution of tongue coating, systematic management of tongue coating and reduced oral malodor can be achieved by actively using QLF images and oral malodor measurement.