Dental Health Status of Early Childhood Patients in Dental Health Care Clinics

Abstract

Background: Dental health problems in early childhood are higher than adults, so they need serious attention. Dental health status is a condition that describes the percentage and degree of health in the community. standard indicator of the World Health Organization to measure the status of dental caries using the def-t index. PHP-M index to measure dental hygiene status in mixed dentition. Objective: This study aims to determine the dental health status of early childhood patients in dental health care clinics. Methods: This research is a descriptive study with a cross sectional design. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling with 37 respondents. The data collection instrument used a questionnaire to measure dental health knowledge, an observation sheet brushing teeth to measure brushing skills, PHP-M index to measure dental hygiene status and def-t index to measure dental caries status. This research is processed and analyzed and presented in a frequency distribution. Results: Most of the early childhood children in dental health care clinics had less knowledge (54.1), less brushing skills (54.4), moderate dental hygiene status (64.9) and high dental caries status (75.7) Conclusion: Dental health status in early childhood patients in dental health care clinics is in the moderate category. Keywords: Dental health status, eaely childhood, patients, dental health care clinics