Journal List > J Korean Acad Oral Health > v.37(3) > 1057566

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Choi, Jin, Kim, Kim, Kim, and Park: Comparison between the National Oral Health Survey Systems of the United States and South Korea
Letter

J Korean Acad Oral Health 2013;37(3):167-171.

Published online: 12 September 2013

DOI: https://doi.org/10.11149/jkaoh.2013.37.3.167

Comparison between the National Oral Health Survey Systems of the United States and South Korea

Youn-Hee Choi1, Hye-Jung Jin1, Eun-Kyong Kim1, Baek-Il Kim2, Dong-Kie Kim3, Deok-Young Park4

1Department of Preventive Dentistry, Kyungpook National University School of Dentistry, Daegu, Korea

2Department of Preventive Dentistry & Public Oral Health, Yonsei University College of Dentistry, Seoul, Korea

3Department of Preventive and Public Health Dentistry, Chosun University School of Dentistry, Gwangju, Korea

4Department of Preventive and Public Health Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Gangneung-Wonju National University & Research Institute of Oral Science, Gangneung, Korea

Corresponding Author: Deok-Young Park Deparment of Preventive and Public Health Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Research Institute of Oral Science, 7, Jukheon-gil, Gangneung 210-702, Korea Tel: +82-33-640-2794 Fax: +82-33-640-2794 E-mail: jguitar@gwnu.ac.kr

Received 30 April 2013       Revised 10 September 2013       Accepted 14 September 2013

Copyright © 2013 Journal of Korean Academy of Oral Health

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

In Korea, two kinds of National oral health surveys have been conducted to develop various oral health indices during the past decade. The system still needs to be improved further in terms of quality control for the examination system, data management, personnel empowerment, etc. Therefore, this study compares the National Oral Health Survey system of the United States (US) with that of South Korea. The US national surveys related to oral health were set from the 1970s, whereas Korea’s national surveys have been initiated only recently; consequently, the US system is well organized and systematically managed by the professional personnel in governmental institutes, such as the Division of Oral Health in Centers for Disease Control. Furthermore, this study examines the scope of the examiner training program, and the methods for developing and implementing a standardized examination environment, data quality control, a data input system with automatic error checking, and data back up in the US. Considering the various factors involved in conducting nationwide epidemiological surveys as mentioned above, the structure and implementation methods of oral surveys in Korea clearly need to be improved.

Keywords: Oral Health Survey system, South Korea, United States

References

1. Ministry of Health and Welfare. 2000 Korean National Oral Health Survey. Seoul: Ministry of Health & Welfare;2001. p. 25–42.
2. Ministry of Health and Welfare. 2003 Korean National Oral Health Survey: III Survey Results. Seoul: Ministry of Health and& Wel-fare;2003. p. 5–40.
3. Ministry of Health and Welfare. 2006 Korean National Oral Health Survey: II Survey Results. Seoul: Ministry of Health & Wel-fare;2007. p. 3–49.
4. Ministry of Health and Welfare. 2010 Korean National Oral Health Survey: II Survey Results. Seoul: Ministry of Health & Wel-fare;2011. p. 3–42.
5. Ministry of Health & Welfare, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Korea Health Statistics 2009: The Fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES IV-3). Seoul: Ministry of Health & Welfare;2010. p. 13–34.
6. Ministry of Health and Welfare. Advanced analysis of Korean national oral health survey. Seoul: Ministry of Health and Wel-fare;2011. p. 11–44.
7. National Center for Health Statistics. Available Surveys and Data Collection Systems [Internet]. [cited 2012 May 21]. Available from:http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/surveys.htm.
8. Article 3, Framework Act on Health Examination. Act No. 10333 (partial revision 2010 May 31).
9. Article 15, Framework Act on Health Examination. Act No. 10333 (partial revision 2010 May 31).
10. Article 9, Oral Health Act. Act No. 10789 (partial revision 2010 October 18).

Fig. 1.
National survey pathways in United States.
jkaoh-37-167f1.tif
Table 1.
The change of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in United States
Abbreviations Periods Target ages
NHES I 1960-1962 18-79 years
NHES II 1963-1965 6-11 years
NHES III 1966-1970 12-17 years
NHANES I 1971-1975 1-72 years
NHANES II 1976-1980 6 months-74 years
HHANES 1982-1984 6 months-74 years
NHANES III 1988-1994 2 months ≤

NHES, National Health Examination Survey; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; HHANES, Hispanic Healthand Nutrition Examination Survey.

Table 2.
Comparison of National Oral Health Survey system between United States and South Korea
United States South Korea
Performance system of the National Oral Health Survey
Organization -NHANES is done at federal government level -Main agency, NCHS closely cooperates with two other agencies, NIDCR and DOH of federal government -Cooperates with private organizations because there is no exclusive dental health agency in government
Sampling method -Oversample in specific ethnic/age/income groups according to the times -Need to oversample in specific age group
Result consultation -Provide information about the need for dental care or not, except for treatment plan -No specific guideline
Qualitative management for National Oral Health Survey
Data quality control -Trained exclusive examiners (dentist, oral hygienist) -Professional traing session (ITS, FTS) -Periodic standardization examination (PSE) -Service company (Westat) support -Public health dentists -Difficult to control data quality due to too many examiners (30 examiner, 4 team)
Infection control -Detailed guideline on infection control -Disposable lab jackets -Rubber-globe, one-time use -MEC equipped sterilizer (SpeedClave) -No guideline on infection control -Non disposable lab jacket -Poly glove with poor-wear sensation -MEC not-equipped sterilizer
Recording data control l -Dental recorder enters data directly into a computer S/W (ISIS) during examination -Dental examiner confirms data entered using secondar PC monitor -ISIS with data-input error check function -Recorder puts the number in the database field after dental examination -No data-input error check function
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