Cheng Feng-Chou, Wang Yin-Lin, Tang Li-Hua, Wang Ling-Hsia, Huang Guay-Fen, Chiang Chun-Pin
Chia-Te Dental Clinic, New Taipei City, Taiwan.
School of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan.
J Dent Sci. 2023 Jul;18(3):1310-1322. doi: 10.1016/j.jds.2023.04.006. Epub 2023 Apr 17.
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Dental caries is one of the most common oral diseases in children worldwide, especially in Taiwan. This study investigated dental professionally topical fluoride application (PTFA) and children's dental use for dental caries under the National Health Insurance (NHI) system in Taiwan from 2008 to 2021.
The population data and medical records of the NHI system were obtained from the websites of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, respectively. The dental PTFA services and dental use indicators for dental caries were analyzed from 2008 to 2021.
The number of out-patient visits for dental PTFA services increased from 221,675 in 2008 to 1,078,099 in 2021. The total increase of the out-patient visits was 856,424 with a total increase rate of 386.34%. The one-year increase was 65,879 with a one-year increase rate of 29.72%. Among the 3 age groups of children, their dental use indicators almost presented decreasing trends from 2008 to 2021. Moreover, in general, the dental use indicators showed a negative correlation with the number of the overall out-patient visits for dental PTFA services from 2008 to 2021.
In Taiwan, there is a negative correlation between the dental use indicators in NHI system and the number of the overall out-patient visits for dental PTFA services from 2008 to 2021. However, the problem of dental caries in children is still serious and there is still a space for improvement in the oral health education for child caregivers and children.
背景/目的：龋齿是全球儿童中最常见的口腔疾病之一，在台湾地区尤为如此。本研究调查了2008年至2021年台湾地区国民健康保险（NHI）系统下专业口腔局部用氟（PTFA）情况以及儿童的龋齿看牙使用情况。
NHI系统的人口数据和医疗记录分别从内政部和卫生福利部的网站获取。分析了2008年至2021年的口腔PTFA服务及龋齿看牙使用指标。
口腔PTFA服务的门诊就诊次数从2008年的221,675次增加到2021年的1,078,099次。门诊就诊总增加量为856,424次，总增长率为386.34%。年增加量为65,879次，年增长率为29.72%。在3个儿童年龄组中，其龋齿看牙使用指标在2008年至2021年期间几乎均呈下降趋势。此外，总体而言，2008年至2021年龋齿看牙使用指标与口腔PTFA服务的总体门诊就诊次数呈负相关。
在台湾地区，2008年至2021年NHI系统中的龋齿看牙使用指标与口腔PTFA服务的总体门诊就诊次数呈负相关。然而，儿童龋齿问题仍然严重，儿童照护者和儿童的口腔健康教育仍有改进空间。
