How is the Dental Hygiene Status of Preschool Children During the Covid-19 Pandemic? - Tooth Brushing Skills and Characteristics of Parents

Abstract

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, preschool children did online teaching and learning at home, so that efforts to promote dental health by health workers were not optimal. This will have an impact on the dental hygiene status of preschool children to be worse. Therefore, the role of parents is needed to pay attention to dental and oral health from an early age. 
 Aims: This study analyzed the relationship between tooth brushing skills and parental characteristics on the dental hygiene status of preschool children. 
 Methods: The research design used is descriptive analytic with a cross sectional method approach. The population in this study were students of Sekar Bangsa Kindergarten, Aisyiyah Kindergarten and Bina Insan Karimah Foundation, Pondok Labu Village, South Jakarta City, with the number of samples used was 60 respondents. The independent variables are teeth brushing skills and parental characteristics. The dependent variable is the dental hygiene status of preschool children. The data collection instruments used were questionnaires, observation sheets and free-plaq score examination sheets. Analysis of the data used is Chi Square with a significance level of p <0.005.
 Results: brushing skills on dental hygiene status showed that the value of p=0.001 (p<0.05) and the age of the parents had the value of p=0.161, the work of the parents the value of p=0.083 and the education of the parents p=0.282 (p>0.05). Conclusion: there is a significant relationship between tooth brushing skills on the dental hygiene status of preschool children and there is no relationship between the characteristics of parents on the dental hygiene status of preschool children.