Men with higher alcohol intake were more likely to have a higher prevalence of treatment needs regardless of their age, socioeconomic factors, systemic conditions (including diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome), and number of times of toothbrushing per day in multivariable adjusted models. By contrast, in women, alcohol intake was not independently associated with periodontal treatment needs. Alcohol consumption was discovered to be a potential risk indicator for periodontal treatment needs in men in this study.

Abstract. Socioeconomic status (SES) has been reported to be associated with oral health behavior. Therefore, the present study was conducted to assess the relationship between SES and oral health behaviors in a large sample of the Korean population. Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which was conducted between 2008 and 2010 by the Division of Chronic Disease Surveillance under the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, were used in the present study. Daily tooth brushing frequency and the use of secondary oral products according to demographic variables and anthropometric characteristics of the participants were assessed. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the associations between daily tooth brushing frequency and the use of secondary oral products, and SES, urban/rural residence, body mass index (BMI), alcohol intake and smoking. An association between SES and tooth brushing frequency and the use of secondary oral products was detected after adjustment. Following adjustment for age, gender, BMI, smoking, drinking, exercise, energy intake, fat intake, periodontal treatment needs and education or income, the adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of tooth brushing ≥3 per day in the highest income group were 1.264 (95% CI, 1.094-1.460) and 2.686 (95% CI, 2.286-3.155) for highest education level group. The adjusted odds ratios for the use of secondary oral products in the highest income and highest education groups were 1.835 (95% CI, 1.559-2.161) and 5.736 (95% CI, 4.734-6.951), respectively, after adjustment for age, gender, smoking, BMI, exercise, calorie intake, periodontal treatment requirements or income. The present study demonstrated an association between SES and oral health behaviors in a large sample of the Korean population. Within the limits of the present study, income and education were suggested as potential risk indicators for oral health behaviors; therefore, patients with a low SES should be investigated further, in relation to oral health.

Objective:The purpose of this study was to investigate the morphology and number of roots of Korean mandibular third molars, and to evaluate the prevalence of C-shaped, two-rooted, and three-rooted mandibular third molars using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT).Materials and Methods:Serial axial CBCT images of the mandibles were gathered from 137 Korean patients. The total number of roots in the mandibular third molars of these patients was measured, and both the incidence and the correlations between left- and right-side occurrences, as well as between males and females, were analyzed.Results:Most of the mandibular third molars either had two roots (56.5%) or one root (37.9%). There was no significant difference regarding the incidence of the different types of roots according to gender (female versus male) or topology (right versus left side). A higher percentage (80.5%) of the patients had similar root morphology on both sides.Conclusion:The morphology and number of 214 mandibular third molars were examined using CBCT. There was a high prevalence of two-rooted mandibular and one-rooted mandibular third molars from this Korean population. Even though the anatomical variations in the mandibular third molars may not be high, these data regarding the occurrence and morphology of the roots will provide useful information to dentists performing these procedures.