Where should Korean Oral Health Science go?

Abstract

JKAOH is available at http://www.jkaoh.org pISSN 1225-388X / eISSN 2093-7784 It feels like yesterday when we were busy with preparing for the New Millennium 15 years ago. Korean dentistry society and Korean society have experienced many changes since then. We expect these changes will accelerate in the future. The rapidly aging society in particular is expected to have a big influence on the society in general as well as the future of Korean dentistry and oral health societies. The decreased birth rate and population aging directly affect the oral disease incidence pattern. Due to a decrease in the child population and incidence of caries, the national priority for management of pediatric caries, the important 20th century national oral health issue, is expected to diminish while periodontal disease and oral health problems of the elderly are expected to emerge as the social issues. Currently, the Korean Academy of Geriatric Dentistry composed mainly of clinical dentists is active. On the other hand, the Korean Academy of Oral Health has been relatively neglecting the oral health issues of the elderly. The oral health issues of the elderly cannot be solved by clinical treatments only and prevention-focused efforts are also needed. In order to do so, the Korean Academy of Oral Health needs to change the public opinion and studies on specific measures to improve the oral health in the elderly are needed. As any biological organism that cannot adapt to a changing environment perishes, any society that does not respond to the flow of changing time will vanish. Responding to the flow of changing time means moving ahead of the change. The way to survive waves of huge changes can be compared to surfing waves in the ocean. One dies by being swept by waves if left behind waves, while one drowns if too ahead of waves. Since it is still not too late, it is right time for the Korean Academy of Oral Health to conduct more active studies on elderly oral health improvement to meet the changing time and make active efforts to establish elderly oral health policies. I believe this is the future direction that the Korean Academy of Oral Health must follow.