OHIP-K showed excellent reliability and validity. OHIP-14S may be a better choice for the evaluation of oral health-related quality of life among the Korean elderly for an international comparison.

Background: This study aimed to develop a Korean version of the OIDP index for elderly people and to assess the levels of sociodental impacts in an older Korean population. Methods:The OIDP index for elderly people was cross-culturally adapted from English into Korean and then the derived instrument was tested for reliability and validity. The study population was elderly (65+ year-old) residents of Gangneung City, South Korea. Twenty two of the 222 senior day centres were randomly selected.Results: 687 people were invited and 668 participated in the study (response rate: 97.2%). The standardized Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.85. The OIDP related significantly with different subjective measures of oral and general health (p < 0.001). 62.9% of the people had oral impacts relating to one or more performances, with eating food being the most frequently affected performance (47.6%). More than 70% of people with oral impacts had up to 3 performances affected by oral health conditions. Conclusion:The Korean OIDP index showed satisfactory validity and internal consistency reliability, confirming its appropriateness for use among older Korean people. The prevalence of oral health related impacts was high. Future studies should focus on the test-retest reliability and the sensitivity to change of the Korean OIDP.

While 6-year-old children who had not ingested fluoridated water showed higher dft in the WF-ceased area than in the non-WF area, 11-year-old children in the WF-ceased area who had ingested fluoridated water for approximately 4 years after birth showed significantly lower DMFT than those in the non-WF area. This suggests that the systemic effect of fluoride intake through water fluoridation could be important for the prevention of dental caries.

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There were clear social gradients in three self-reported oral symptoms (toothache, bad breath and fractured teeth) in Korean adolescents. Psychosocial factors explained part of the social inequalities in oral symptoms. Future longitudinal research is required to better address the pathways that explain socio-economic inequalities in oral symptoms during adolescence.