Background: Dental caries is the destruction of hard tissues of the teeth due to activities of bacteria that change food debris, especially sugar and starch into acid and then demineralize the teeth. Dental caries is a common infection affecting mostly schoolchildren as they usually consume snacks at schools and rarely have mineral water after. Based on the research, 28.5% of children in the age of 5-9 years and 25.2% of children in the age of 10-14 years have oral health problems. Purpose: This study assessed the risk factors influencing the severity levels of dental caries. Methods: This study was observational descriptive research using a cross-sectional approach. The samples used in this study were 118 students selected through stratified proportional random sampling. Data were collected through interviews, intra-oral examination, and school data observation. All data collected were analyzed using cross-tabulation and odds ratio with the SPSS program. Results: As many as 68.6% of the respondents had highly severe dental caries (dmf-t>3). The value of theodds ratio between the severity of caries and oral hygiene status was 5.63. While the value of the odds ratio between the severity of caries and water drinking after snacking was 1.89. The odds ratio tests showed oral hygiene status and water drinking after snacking were the risk factors of caries. Conclusion: Age, gender, parent’s knowledge, parent’s occupation, snacking habit, teeth-brushing habit, water drinking habit, and oral hygiene status were the risk factors influencing the severity levels of dental caries.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.