Association between dental care and improvement in long-term care dependency levels in Korean beneficiaries

AIM: Although it has been reported that poor oral health is associated with worsening general health, oral health has been given less importance than general health in Long-Term Care (LTC) insurance beneficiaries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between dental care and improvement in dependency levels of LTC insurance beneficiaries. METHODS: This study collected data from 53 130 beneficiaries who were newly approved for LTC in Korea in 2015. They were assigned to five LTC levels according to their dependency on daily life and reassessed after 2-3 years. The change in LTC level was evaluated. The LTC level improvement percentage was compared according to socioeconomic factors, and medical and dental history using the χ²-test. Factors related to the occurrence of LTC level improvement were evaluated using multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: LTC levels improved in 12.4% of the beneficiaries. Dental treatment experience showed significant differences between the worse or the same group and the better group (P < 0.05), and the odds ratio of dental treatment experience for LTC level improvement was 1.18. In addition, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that sex, age, hypertension and dental care were statistically significant factors related to the occurrence of LTC level improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Dental care was associated with improvement of LTC levels. Therefore, professional dental care programs are helpful in reducing dependency and ultimately improving the quality of life of LTC beneficiaries. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2025; 25: 911-917.