One in three disabled people aged 10 or older currently has tooth decay, a survey found. The rate of brushing teeth before bed and the rate of dental care use were both far lower than among non-disabled people, indicating a need to strengthen prevention-focused oral health management for people with disabilities.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) released the results of its "2025 Survey on the Oral Health of People with Disabilities" on Monday, conducted on 1,988 registered disabled people nationwide. This is the first time the country has surveyed and released the oral health status and management of people with disabilities at the national level.
According to the survey, the rate of permanent tooth decay experience among disabled people aged 10 or older was 95.3 percent, showing that most had experienced tooth decay at least once in their lives. The proportion currently with tooth decay was 31.7 percent, and the average number of teeth with decay experience per person was 9.3. This exceeds the permanent tooth decay rate (24.4 percent) and the average number of teeth with decay experience (7.3) among the general population in the 2019 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
By type of disability, the oral health of people with mental disabilities was the most vulnerable. The proportion currently with tooth decay was highest at 51.2 percent, and the average number of teeth with decay experience reached 11.4. In contrast, people with developmental disabilities were relatively low at 31.2 percent and 5.0 teeth, respectively.
The level of preventive management was also inadequate. The rate of brushing teeth before bed was 32.5 percent, more than 20 percentage points lower than the general population (53.4 percent). The proportion who received dental sealants, which are highly effective in preventing tooth decay, was only 2.7 percent, less than half that of the general population (7.1 percent).
The rate of dental care use was also low. Disabled people who received dental treatment in the past year stood at 48.5 percent, only half the level of the general population (85.7 percent). The most common reason for needing but not receiving dental treatment was financial burden at 46.7 percent, followed by fear of treatment (15.8 percent) and difficulty finding a treatment facility (9.0 percent).
By contrast, the rate of wearing dental prosthetics was 65.6 percent, higher than the general population (34.3 percent). This is analyzed to reflect many cases in which prosthetic treatment was received because tooth damage had already progressed.
"Through this survey, we confirmed the oral health status and management of people with disabilities at the national level for the first time," KDCA Commissioner Lim Seung-kwan said. "We will expand preventive treatments such as proper toothbrushing and dental sealants, and actively use this as basic data for establishing oral health policies for people with disabilities and for related research."
