Table 2. Structure of Meaning Units on Periodontal Disease Treatment Experiences of Clinical Korean Medicine Doctors

Theme	Central Meaning Unit	Sub-Meaning Unit Description
Patterns of Patients’ Experiences with Periodontal Disease	Route of visiting Korean medicine clinics	Non-primary complaints or Accompanied symptoms
		Identified among long-term care patients
		Residual symptoms after dental treatment
	Frequency of visits by periodontal disease patients	Patient-related factors
		Structural factors orKorean medicine doctor–related factors
	Chief complaints	Pain (gingival pain, tooth pain, etc.)
		Gingival symptoms (swelling, bleeding, discharge, etc.)
		Dental symptoms (mobility, sensitivity, fractures, etc.)
		Oral symptoms (halitosis, dryness, tongue symptoms, etc.)
Evaluation and Diagnosis by Korean Medicine Doctors	Factors considered when evaluating periodontal disease patients	Visual inspection (redness, swelling, pus discharge, etc.)
		Patients’ subjective symptoms (pain, heatness, etc.)
		Presence of systemic diseases and lifestyle
		Assessment based on dental records
		Other considerations (general condition, presence of cognitive impairment, etc.)
	Korean medicine interpretation of periodontal disease	Assessment based on symptom severity
		Distinction between pain, swelling, and inflammatory stage
		Basic recognition of inflammation, with variations in detailed interpretation
		Pattern identification based on Sasang constitutional medicine
		Differentiation between gingivitis and periodontitis in disease progression
Experiences with Korean Medicine Treatment for Periodontal Disease	Types and methods of Korean medicine treatment	Acupuncture
		Herbal medicine
		Pharmacopuncture
		Lifestyle education
		Other treatments
	Experience of treatment effects	Cases with perceived treatment effectiveness
		Cases without perceived effectiveness and reasons
Difficulties in the Treatment Process (Clinical Barriers)	Structural factors	Limitations of the Korean medicine clinical scope
		Limitations of the clinical environment for Korean medicine treatment
		Lack of institutional systems supporting periodontal disease treatment
	Korean medicine doctor–related factors	Lack of education on periodontal disease during Korean medicine training
		Insufficient awareness of periodontal disease treatment and low confidence
		Lack of sharing and transmission of clinical experience
	Patient-related factors	Treatment discontinuation during the course of care
		Lack of awareness of Korean medicine treatment for periodontal disease
		Lack of continuity in periodontal disease management
		Difficulties in patient education and management
Dental–Korean Medicine Collaboration	Reasons collaboration was successful	dentistry was available within the same institution.
	Reasons collaboration was difficult	Mismatch in treatment goals and direction between dentistry and Korean medicine
		Patients’ lack of awareness/understanding regarding the need for collaborative care
		Insufficient mutual understanding and recognition of the need for collaboration between dentistry and Korean medicine
		Lack of a collaboration system
Future Needs and Directions	Need for clinical guidelines and manuals for Korean medicine treatment of periodontal disease	Need for manuals to supplement limitations of periodontal disease treatment
		Need for manuals defining the role of Korean medicine doctors in adjunctive periodontal care
		Need for guidelines tailored to clinical settings
	Complementary points for Dental–Korean medicine collaboration	Need for manuals to facilitate collaboration
		Need to establish criteria for evaluating treatment effects
		Need to improve mutual understanding and role recognition between professional fields
	Future role of Korean medicine doctors in periodontal disease treatment	Role as providers of adjunctive and supportive care alongside dental treatment
		Role as screeners in elderly-centered primary care settings
		Need for changes in awareness and increased interest in periodontal disease treatment
		Need for accumulation and sharing of clinical experience, research, and evidence