RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEVEL OF TOOTH BRUSHING KNOWLEDGE AND THE INCIDENCE OF TOOTH CARIES IN STUDENTS AT SDK SANTA MELANIA SURABAYA

Abstract

Dental caries is a disease of dental tissue characterized by tissue damage, starting from the surface of the tooth, namely from the enamel, dentin, and extending towards the pulp. One of the factors causing caries in children is the lack of parental knowledge about children's dental and oral health. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the level of knowledge of brushing teeth and the incidence of dental caries in students at SDK Santa Melania Surabaya. This type of research uses Analytical Observation of a population of 67 students at SDK Santa Melania Surabaya. The number of samples in this study was 57 students taken by simple random sampling. The independent variable is the level of knowledge of brushing teeth while the dependent variable is the incidence of dental caries. Based on the results of the Spearman correlation statistical test, it shows a relationship between the level of knowledge of brushing teeth and the incidence of dental caries in students. With ρ = 0.005 < α = 0.05. To prevent tooth decay, the actions that can be taken are: providing counseling to increase knowledge of proper tooth brushing, it was hoped that children will brush their teeth properly, then checking dental health every 6 months and reducing consumption of cariogenic foods.