THE CORRELATION BETWEEN DIETARY HABITS, DENTAL HYGIENE PRACTICE AND MATERNAL EDUCATIONWITH DENTAL CARIES AMONG SCHOOL CHILDREN IN URBAN AREA IN SEMARANG

Abstract

Dental caries is a major cause of tooth loss in children and young adults. Dental caries have been linked to the situation of underprivileged families, nutritional imbalance, and poor oral hygiene techniques, including lack of tooth brushing or flossing the teeth, and also have a genetic etiology. Dietary habits and dental hygiene practice can result in high caries in school children. This research aimed to reveal the correlation between dietary habits, dental hygiene practice, maternal education with dental caries among school children in urban area of Semarang. The subjects of this research were the elementary student age 7 – 9 years old enrolled in public schools located in at urban area in Semarang in 2016 and mothers of students who became the study subject. Data were statistically analyzed using bivariate analysis and multivariate analysis. Based on the research result, it can be concluded that: overall, def-t Score in the study was very bad with high median of def-t and many children have def-t Score more than 6 to 14; intake of total carbohydrate, refined carbohydrate are normal but fiber intake is low; and there were no correlations between refined carbohydrate intake, fiber intake and dental hygiene practice with dental caries.Bottle feeding and duration of bottle feeding were associated with def-t Score, and no correlation between mother education and dental caries among school children in urban area. A program of dental care education should be designed for mothers of toddlers and pre school children.