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BMC Oral Health
Published in: BMC Oral Health 1/2023

Open Access 01-12-2023 | Research

Association between long working hours and unmet dental needs in wage workers

Authors: Youngjin Choi, Inah Kim, Jaechul Song

Published in: BMC Oral Health | Issue 1/2023

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Abstract

Background

Many previous studies on the reasons behind unmet dental needs focus on economic issues. However, in this research, we aimed to investigate the relationship between long working hours and unmet dental needs while considering the influence of occupational factors in wage workers.

Methods

This study used data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2012–2018) and analyzed a sample of 12,104 wage workers. Unmet dental needs were defined as cases in which individuals did not receive dental care, despite their need for examination or treatment, within the last year. Long working hours were defined as exceeding 52 h per week, based on the standard working hours stipulated by the Labor Standards Act. A binomial model was applied to calculate the prevalence ratio through multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Results

The prevalence of unmet dental needs was observed in 3,948 cases (32.5%), among which 1,478 attributed their presence to lack of time. The prevalence of unmet dental needs showed an inverse relationship with the education level and household income. The wage workers who worked long hours had the highest prevalence of unmet dental needs. Long working hours were found to be 1.18 times (95% CI 1.07–1.29) more likely to result in unmet dental care compared to working less than 40 h. The relationship between long working hours and unmet dental needs were statistically significant only in men (PR 1.24, 95% CI 1.07–1.43). However, the relationship between long working hours and unmet dental needs owing to time were in both men and women (men: PR 1.59, 95% CI 1.20–2.11, women: PR 1.90, 95% CI 1.48–2.43).

Conclusions

This study confirmed that long working hours and unmet dental needs are related when occupational factors are taken into consideration, despite the absence of oral health indicators. Using this study as a reference, further research is necessary to identify the underlying causes of unmet dental care and to improve access to dental services in the future.
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Metadata
Title
Association between long working hours and unmet dental needs in wage workers
Authors
Youngjin Choi
Inah Kim
Jaechul Song
Publication date
01-12-2023
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Oral Health / Issue 1/2023
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6831
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-023-03289-0

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