Korean society is faced with numerous changes as a result of the accelerated ageing of the population and advances in and penetration of information technology (IT). 1 Korea officially became an aged society in 2018, with older adults comprising 14.3% of the total population. 2 As for the extent of IT penetration in Korea, the personal smartphone ownership rate in 2017 was 83.2%, which is one of the highest among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. 3 Increased penetration and utilisation of IT, such as computers, the Internet and smartphones, is an important factor in older adults' daily lives and quality of life. 4,5 In keeping with this trend, there is a growing need for smartphonebased oral health education. 6 Maintaining older adults' oral health is necessary for sustaining systemic health and quality of life. 7,8 Oral health education is essential to improve the oral health of older adults at a high level. 8 With the expanse of the IT environment, it is necessary to consider using smart devices for imparting oral health education. 6 In the past, oral health education for older adults has been conducted offline at sites such as hospitals, welfare facilities and public health centres; however, these programmes had several limitations. 9For example, physical space is essential to provide the programme, the participants must be physically present, and the anticipated

Background This study aims to investigate the relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and periodontal disease using data from the Sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES, 2013 to 2015). Methods Of 22,948 KNHANES participants, 14,264 who were aged ≥19 years and responded to questions pertaining to periodontal disease and rheumatoid arthritis were analyzed. Periodontal status was measured using the Community Periodontal Index. The authors used a complex sampling analysis by applying an individual sampling weighting to maintain the rolling survey sampling method. To determine the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis and periodontal disease, a Chi‐squared test was performed. Logistic regression analysis was performed after controlling for selected variables to determine relevance. Results The prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in patients with periodontal disease was 1.6%, which was higher than in individuals without periodontal disease (1.5%). The prevalence of periodontal disease in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis was 28.4%, which was higher than in subjects without rheumatoid arthritis (27.9%). The risk for periodontal disease was 1.64 times higher in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis than in those without rheumatoid arthritis. Regardless of age or sex, the risk for periodontal disease was 1.97 times higher in the presence of rheumatoid arthritis. However, other logistic regression analysis models, when adjusted for socioeconomic‐, health‐, and oral health‐related factors, did not yield statistically significant findings. Conclusions The study results suggest a possible relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and periodontal disease. Further large cohort studies investigating causal relationships between rheumatoid arthritis and periodontal disease are needed.

Objectives: This study aimed to elucidate the association between oral health status and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Korean adults (≥ 40 years old) using a representative national dataset from the 6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (6th KNHANES, 2013-2015. Methods: Participants aged ≥ 40 years from the 6th KNHANES who had received an oral and pulmonary function tests (N = 7719) were included in this study. The participant characteristics according to COPD were compared using t-test and chi-squared test. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the association between oral health status and COPD. Results: Participants with poor periodontal status exhibited a higher prevalence of COPD. Moreover, patients with COPD had a greater number of missing teeth than those without COPD. The logistic regression model adjusted for demographic, socioeconomic, health-and oral health-related factors showed that the periodontal status was not significantly associated with COPD, while participants with more missing teeth had a significantly increased possibility of having COPD. Conclusions: This study revealed that loss of teeth in adults aged ≥ 40 years was associated with COPD.

Objectives This study compared the oral health status between elderly individuals with and without cognitive impairment and explored the association of oral health and activities of daily living (ADL) with cognitive impairment. Methods We conducted convenience sampling on patients aged more than 65 years and analysed data from 630 participants. Data were collected and analysed via a survey evaluating general characteristics, oral health behaviour, subjective oral health status, Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP‐14), Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) and ADL. Results The path analysis and regression analysis of the association of oral health and ADL with cognitive impairment showed that the OHIP‐14 was not significantly associated with cognitive impairment, whereas the GOHAI and ADL had significant associations with cognitive impairment. A 1‐point increase in the GOHAI was associated with a 0.024‐point increase in the cognitive impairment score, and a 1‐point increase in the ADL was associated with a 0.006‐point decrease in the cognitive impairment score (normal = 0, cognitive impairment = 1). Conclusions Poor oral health and ADL were associated with cognitive impairment. Therefore, oral hygiene management is important in maintaining oral health in elderly individuals with cognitive impairment.

Rise in the ageing population has placed significant importance on oral health care for older adults. Moreover, the emerging geriatric dentistry industry focuses on encouraging oral health care for this population, 1 as well as maintenance of optimal oral health for physical, mental and social well-being. 2 With recent efforts to satisfy the basic needs of older people in South Korea, senior citizens now pursue a higher level of needs than previous generations. 3 Accordingly, with growing interest in oral health, demand for oral health care is also increasing. 4 Thus, oral health education is required to foster life satisfaction among older people. To attain optimal oral health, there is a need to change oral health behaviour 2,5 and to practice proper oral health care on a regular basis. 6 In a previous study, Shin reported that 76.6% of seniors had no experience of oral health education, 7 indicating inadequate