Faculty of Dentistry, Sultan Agung Islamic University - Indonesia
Dentist Education Program,
Background: The high incidence of dental caries in elementary school-aged children was a public health problem. One effort to reduce the high rate of dental caries was through a 21-day tooth brushing program. It was hoped that the behavior would form permanently and become a habit. The purpose is to find out the description of elementary school students' behavior after the 21-day tooth brushing program.
Method: The type of research was descriptive observational. The population in this study was elementary school students at SDN Bangetayu Wetan 01 Semarang City, totaling 386 students from grades 1 to 6. The sampling technique used was a total sampling technique which was in accordance with research inclusion and exclusion criteria, resulting in 105 samples. Data were subjected to descriptive statistical analysis.
Result:The study showed that changes in dental and oral health maintenance behavior after the 21-day tooth brushing intervention were mostly in the sufficient category (49.5%). The majority of students' 21-day tooth brushing practice was in the routine category (82.9%).
Conclusion: The most common characteristics of respondents were female (62.9%) and 10 years old (24.8%).Through the 21-day tooth brushing program, the students of SDN Bangetayu Wetan 01 Semarang City formed dental and oral health maintenance behavior.
Keywords: 21-day tooth brushing program; caries; dental and oral health maintenance behavior