ArticleBMC oral health2020
Did the extended coverage policy contribute to alleviating socioeconomic inequality in untreated dental caries of both children and adolescents in South Korea?
Article in BMC oral health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic Review of Intervention Studies Aiming at Reducing Inequality in Dental Caries among Children.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Are online search trends associated with changes in dental sealant utilization?: focusing on key influencing factors.BMC oral health · 2026Article
- Trends in Pit and Fissure Sealant Use and Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth Rates Among Korean Adolescents After Including Dental Sealants Under Insurance Coverage.Journal of public health dentistry · 2026Article
- Upstream Interventions to Promote Oral Health and Reduce Oral Health Inequalities: A Scoping Review.Community dentistry and oral epidemiology · 2026Article
- A national-wide analysis of dental services utilization in primary health care settings in rural areas of Iran.Journal of education and health promotion · 2026Article
- Dental Caries Prevention Programs in Low-Income Populations - A Systematic Review.Journal of pharmacy & bioallied sciences · 2025Article
- Oral Health Indicators among a sample of Hispanic Patients diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Revista de odontopediatria latinoamericana · 2025Article
- The role of income and frequency of dental visits in the relationship between dental sealant use and resin fillings after extended coverage: a retrospective cohort study.BMC oral health · 2023Article
- The association of food insecurity with tooth decay and periodontitis among middle-aged and older adults in the United States and Korea.Gerodontology · 2023Article
- Systems mapping of multilevel factors contributing to dental caries in adolescents.Frontiers in oral health · 2023Review
- Inequalities in utilization and provision of dental services: a scoping review.Systematic reviews · 2021Article
- Has the Health Insurance Coverage of Scaling Contributed Positively to Periodontal Health in Korea?International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Does the Registered Dentists' Program Alleviate the Socioeconomic Gap in the Use of Dental Sealants?International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDental sealants have been covered by the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) since December 2009 in South Korea. This study aims to determine whether the socioeconomic inequality in untreated dental caries decreased after implementing the extended coverage policy for dental sealant.
methodsThe data were derived from the fourth (2007-2009) and sixth (2013-2015) waves of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) conducted by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). Dental caries and sealant experience by income quartiles were tested using the Rao-Scott chi-squared test. In order to examine socioeconomic inequalities and their trends over time, the prevalence ratios (PRs), slope index of inequality (SII), and relative index of inequality (RII) were estimated for each wave and age group. All analyses were conducted using SAS version 9.3.
resultsThe adjusted PRs of untreated dental caries and sealants in the poorest in the aged 6-11 group were significantly higher and lower, respectively, compared to the most affluent quartile group for the fourth wave; however, all significant differences disappeared for the sixth wave, after the sealant coverage. The gap between the lowest and the highest was similar for the aged 12-18 group but it widened in the untreated dental caries even after the sealant coverage. The statistical significance of the PRs was maintained at the sixth wave for both caries and sealants. Children showed decreases in both SII and RII over time so its significance disappeared. The SII among adolescents decreased over time but the RII of untreated dental caries increased.
conclusionsThis study found that the NHIS coverage expansion of dental care had a positive effect on overall status in dental health among children and adolescents. However, younger children benefited more in terms of inequalities. Our findings indicate that strategies to enhance access to preventive dental services should consider the differential effects for the vulnerable population in terms of socioeconomic status and age from the beginning stage of the policy.
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