Public Health Dentistry Education in Korean Dental Hygiene Programs: A Literature Review, 2010-2023

This study aimed to systematically analyze the current status of public oral health education in Korean dental hygiene departments, identify structural problems in the current curriculum, and suggest future-oriented curriculum improvement measures.A systematic literature review was conducted using databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCO, RISS, KoreaMED, and Google to identify literature published between January 2010 and 2024.The analysis of the selected literature was performed according to the PRISMA guidelines, focusing on the assessment of educational status, the identification of problems, and suggestions for improvement measures.Public oral health education in Korean dental hygiene departments primarily comprises oral health education, oral health statistics, public oral health, and community dental hygiene (2-3 credits each), with theory-to-practice ratios of 6:4 or 7:3.The Korean domestic curriculum focuses more on individual patient-centered clinical education, with relatively insufficient public health perspective education.Community-centered integrated approaches and interdisciplinary collaboration were inadequate.To improve public oral health education, it is necessary to strengthen public-health-related education, consider the introduction of dual-degree programs, enhance community-centered integrated approaches, and expand practice-centered education.These improvements are expected to strengthen future dental hygiene professionals' public oral health competencies and thus contribute to the promotion of community oral health.