Number of Teeth According to Hand Strength in Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study of 11,499 South Korean Adults.

Background and Objectives: Grip strength is a measure of general health and is associated with oral health. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the number of teeth and grip strength in Korean adults. Methods and Materials: We recruited adult participants who underwent oral examinations in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) between 2016-2018. When performing the KNHANES oral examination, an experienced dentist performed it according to the oral examination guidelines and recorded the results. A total of 24,269 participants from the 2016-2018 KNHANES were included in this study. Of these, only 16,489 participants underwent oral screening. A total of 3209 were non-adult children and adolescents, and 1781 did not respond to the grip strength test; those who did not respond to the main independent confounder were excluded. The relationships between grip strength, general characteristics, general health, oral health, and the number of remaining teeth were analyzed. There were 11,499 subjects in total in this study, with 4839 males and 6660 females. The age groups were 19-65 years of age, with 8387 subjects, and 65 years and older, with 3112 subjects, and the number of remaining teeth was 0-9 for 936 subjects, 10-19 for 1015 subjects, and 20-28 for 9548 subjects. Results: The probability that the higher the grip strength, the higher the residual number of gingiva was estimated by multinomial logistic regression analysis using complex sampling. The higher the grip strength, the higher the probability of having 20-28 teeth remaining (adjusted odds ratio, 1.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.19-2.13). Conclusions: Maintaining general health is related to maintaining teeth; the higher the grip strength, the higher the number of remaining teeth.

Factors Associated with Unmet Dental Care Needs among Korean Adult Cancer Survivors: Cross-Sectional Analysis of the 2016-2018 KNHANES.

This study aimed to identify the factors associated with unmet dental care needs among Korean adult cancer survivors. This cross-sectional study used data from the seventh (2016-2018) Korea National Health and Examination Survey. It included 339 adult cancer survivors. Participants' experience of unmet dental care needs was assessed using a health questionnaire survey. Moreover, the subjective oral health status (i.e., toothache) and behavior (i.e., toothbrushing and oral examination) were assessed through oral health interviews. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-squared test, and logistic regression analysis. The rate of experience of unmet dental care needs among cancer survivors was 29.5%. Cancer survivors with limitations in performing daily activities of living were more likely to experience unmet dental care needs than cancer survivors without activity limitations ([aOR] = 2.14, [95%CI] = 1.04-4.40). Moreover, cancer survivors who did undergo oral examination within the past year were more likely to experience unmet dental care needs than cancer survivors who underwent oral examination ([aOR] = 2.49, [95%CI] = 1.22-5.07). Korean cancer survivors experienced unmet dental care needs when they did not receive an oral examination or had activity limitations. This study's findings provide insight into social and behavioral factors associated with unmet dental care needs among Korean cancer survivors.