Relationship Between Dental and Oral Health Knowledge Levels With Toothbrushing Behavior in Former Methamphetamine Users

Abstract

Misuse of methamphetamine types can cause dental and oral health problems such as meth mouth, xerostomia, periodontitis and so on. Meanwhile, based on the 2018 BNN survey, cases of methamphetamine abuse in Indonesia are still relatively high. The high level of dental and oral health problems in shabu addicts can also be caused by a lack of knowledge and behavior in maintaining dental and oral health. Therefore, this study aims to determine the level of knowledge and behavior as well as the relationship between the level of knowledge of dental and oral health with brushing behavior in former users of methamphetamine.
 This study is an analytical study using a cross-sectional design. Data was collected by distributing questionnaires containing closed-ended questions regarding dental and oral health and by observing tooth brushing behavior in 40 respondents who were undergoing rehabilitation at the Cakra Sehati Foundation, Bandung. The analytical method used is the Fisher Exact test because there are cells with an expected value of less than 5. The results show that 92.3% of respondents have a level of knowledge of oral health and tooth brushing behavior in the poor category. Fisher's Exact statistical test showed that there was a relationship between the level of knowledge of oral health and tooth brushing behavior in former methamphetamine addicts at the Cakra Sehati Foundation, Bandung (p = 0.013 < 0.05).