earticle

영어

The purpose of this study was to examine the levels of the subjective oral health awareness of local residents in the city of Changwon and Haman county in an effort to lay the foundation for the development of customized local oral health education programs. The 2015 community health survey data were used, and the data from 864 residents in Changwon and from 719 dwellers in Haman county were analyzed. The Changwon residents brushed their teeth after lunch more, received more oral checkups over the past year and had more scaling experience. The Haman residents had more experience of not receiving dental treatment. The subjective health awareness, subjective oral health awareness, chewing difficulty and periodontal health of the Haman dwellers were all worse, and all the levels of awareness were lower among the respondents who were older and who were diagnosed with hypertension and/or diabetes. The respondents who made use of dentures and who didn't brush their teeth after lunch had experience of not receiving dental treatment, and all the levels of health-related awareness were lower among the respondents who didn't receive dental checkups nor had scaling experience. To remedy the situation, efforts should be made to prevent and manage chronic diseases, and the establishment of a system that guarantees regular dental checkups and scaling is required. And the kind of environments that everybody can receive dental treatment when they want should be prepared. In order to change negative awareness, necessary measures should be taken to provide oral health education that is not temporary but sustainable and tailored to local characteristics and different life stages.