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open access
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ISSN : 0376-4672
Objective: To identify the status of dental services in Korean correctional institutions and suggest improvement measures. Methods: We surveyed 31 out of 32 dental public health doctors working at correctional institutions under the Ministry of Justice, to analyze the status of dental treatment provided in 47 such institutions. We also examined the dental public health doctors' awareness of dental services. Results: Thirty-seven percent of institutions had no radiation devices available for diagnosis, and 80.9% of institutions complained of a lack of radiation diagnostic equipment. In 78.7% of institutions, dental treatment by external doctors was performed regularly, and 93.5% of dental public health doctors thought that they were necessary. On the other hand, the need for a dental officer (including a dental public health doctor) was rated lower (74.2%). Among dental public health doctors, 83.9% said that the environment to deal with emergency situations was not sufficient, 64.5% were concerned about the disadvantages caused by medical accidents, and 61.3% thought that relief measures were insufficient. Futher, 66.0% of respondents said it was difficult to receive medical treatment at external hospitals if necessary. Moreover, 74.2% of dental public health doctors said working in correctional institutions was rewarding, and many doctors reasoned that it was not rewarding because they regretted not being able to provide high-quality treatment. As for the most urgent task to improve dental treatment for inmates, increasing dental assistants and changes in the consciousness of medical services and medical officers were suggested, among others, such as establishing a dental hospital for inmates, expanding equipment and materials for dental treatment, and recruiting external (invited) dentists. Conclusion: Dental public health doctors oversee dental services at Korean correctional institutions, and further research is urgently needed for its development. Improvements in dental services at correctional institutions should include increasing dental staff including assistants and external dentists, and expanding the equipment and materials for dental treatment.
Chronic toothache with no specific cause, no standardized characteristics, have been called ‘Atypical Odontalgia(AO)’. Recently, it has been replaced by the term 'persistent dentoalveolar pain disorder (PDAP)'. Since patients have various causative factors and their symptoms are diverse, it is also a challenge for clinicians to make an accurate diagnosis. PDAP is a persistent pain, and various aspects appear. There are no special triggers, exacerbation or alleviation factors, no response to anesthesia tests and dental treatment. The purpose of this study is to assist clinicians in diagnosing patients with unexplained tooth pain by examining the clinical characteristics, differential factors, and treatment of PDAP.
Mouthguards have been fabricated for protecting oral structures from outer forces. The best type of mouthguard is custom-made by dentists with impression technique. But boil-and-bite mouthguards have been also used, because of economic cause or difficulty in impression taking or emergency of the case. Author has founded that rigid boil-and-bite mouthguard can provide a suitable retention when it is moulded by dentist. There is a case that rigid boil-and-bite mouthguard was successfully used to provide mouth protection of a patient with severe mouth opening limitation due to autoimmune encephalitis during electroconvulsive therapy. In conclusion, the rigid boil-and-bite mouthguard moulded by dentist can be one of the effective treatment options when impression taking is difficult or mouthguard is urgently needed.
Bruxism is a movement disorder characterized by grinding and clenching of teeth. Polysomnography and controlled sleep studies have allowed us to better understand the relationship between sleep stages, micro-arousal responses, and autonomic function and bruxism. Bruxism can sometimes threaten the integrity of the masticatory system when the magnitude and direction of the applied force exceeds the system's adaptive capacity. Thus, bruxism is the most common contributing factor found in patients with temporomandibular disorder and orofacial pain. In addition, it contributes to abnormal wear of teeth, periodontal disease, and causes considerable problems in dental care. There are two main types of bruxism, which are associated with various circadian cycles (sleep and wake bruxism) that may differ in pathophysiology. Bruxism is considered to have multifactorial etiology. Sleep bruxism have been associated with peripheral factors, psychosocial influences such as psychological distress or anxiety, and central pathophysiology involving brain neurotransmitters. Currently, there is no specific and effective treatment that can permanently get rid of the bruxism. Palliative treatment and alternatives have been mainly proposed to prevent the pathological effects of bruxism on the oral and maxillofacial system and to ameliorate adverse clinical outcomes. This study is a review of literature published in the last 30 years on 'bruxism', especially sleep bruxism, and is performed using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) Database and PubMed search engines.