Journal of Korean Society of Dental Hygiene (J Korean Soc Dent Hyg)
Original Article

Oral health and stress-related factors in Korean adolescents: findings from the 20th (2024) Korea Youth Risk Behavior Webbased Survey

1Department of Nursing, Songwon University
2Department of Dental Hygiene, Songwon University

Correspondence to Sun-A Lim, Department of Dental Hygiene, Songwon University, 73 Songam-ro, Nam-gu, Gwangju-si, 61756, Korea. Tel: +82-62-360-5791, Fax: +82-62-360-5962, E-mail: givesuna@nate.com

Volume 25, Number 5, Pages 401-8, October 2025.
J Korean Soc Dent Hyg 2025;25(5):401-8. https://doi.org/10.13065/jksdh.2025.25.5.5
Received on September 23, 2025, Revised on October 03, 2025, Accepted on October 09, 2025, Published on October 30, 2025.
Copyright © 2025 Journal of Korean Society of Dental Hygiene.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0).

Abstract

Objectives: This study examined factors associated with oral health and stress in South Korean adolescents using data from the 20th Youth Online Health Behavior Survey, including a total of 54,653 subjects. Methods: General characteristics, oral health behaviors, and stress related to oral symptom experiences were analyzed using the complex sample chi-square test. Factors influencing stress were identified through complex sample logistic regression analysis. Results: Regardingfactors affecting stress, compared with adolescents who brushed their teeth thrice the previous day, stress levels were 1.28 times higher (p<0.001) for those who brushed once or less, and 1.07 times higher (p<0.05) for those who brushed twice. Stress was 0.73 times lower in cases without pain (p<0.001), 0.79 times lower in cases without tingling & throbbing (p<0.001), and 0.71 times cases in those without gingival bleeding (p<0.001). Conclusions: These results indicate a strong association between oral health and stress among adolescents. The results provide foundational data for developing preventive strategies and practical educational programs aimed at promoting oral health in this population.

Keywords

Adolescents, Oral health, Stress, Youth risk behavior survey

Section