Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the risk factors for periodontal diseases in Ko-rean adults.Methods: In this study, raw data obtained from the third year of the 5th National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010-2012) were used. The data were collected from 5,513 Korean adults, aged ≥19 years. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the odds ratio (OR) and confidence interval in order to ascertain the factors influencing periodontal diseases.Results: Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to verify the risk factors responsible for periodontal diseases in Korean adults in 2012. After all factors were adjusted for, the following were identified as the only risk factors for periodontal diseases: sex, age, income level, educational level, oc-cupation, history of smoking and alcohol consumption, usual stress recognition level, diabetes, self-assessed oral health, and daily tooth brushing frequency.Conclusions: The results of this study revealed that sociodemographic characteristics, health behavior and status, self-assessed oral health, and oral health were the factors that affect periodontal diseases.

Keywords: Korean adults, Periodontal disease, Risk factors