Tantangan tenaga kesehatan dalam memberikan Dental Health Education (DHE) pada anak dan individu berkebutuhan khusus, salah satunya adalah penderita Gangguan Spektrum Autisme (GSA) yang memiliki gejala atau tanda berupa masalah perilaku, kesulitan dalam berkomunikasi, dan keterbelakangan kognitif. Individu GSA memiliki berbagai masalah medis yang menyertai (komorbiditas) termasuk masalah kesehatan di mulut. Kondisi rongga mulut Individu GSA oral seperti oral hygiene yang buruk, karies, dan penyakit periodontal. Tujuan penelitian adalah mendapatkan solusi pemberian Dental Health Education (DHE) menggunakan media Video-modeling (VM). Metode: Jenis penelitian yang digunakan adalah deskriptif dengan teknik cross sectional. Pengambilan sampel secara total sampling dengan jumlah responden sebanyak 13 Individu GSA di Lembaga Pendidikan Autisma Prananda Kota Bandung. Kriteria penilaian keberhasilan pemberian DHE (video animasi cara menyikat gigi) menggunakan Object Retrieval Through Observational Learning Rating Criteria dengan skor 0 : subyek gagal mengikuti instruksi yang diberikan; skor 1 : subyek hamper tidak dapat mengikuti instruksi yang diberikan; skor 2: subyek hampir dapat mengikuti instruksi, walaupun tidak berurutan seperti instruksi; Skor 3 : responden mengikuti seluruh instruksi yang diberikan dengan urutan yang benar. Hasil: Sebanyak 12 responden mendapat skor 2 dan 1 responden mendapat skor 1. Simpulan: Individu GSA adalah dapat mengikuti instruksi cara menyikat gigi setelah diberikan DHE dengan video modelling. pada masa pandemi COVID-19 di Lembaga Pendidikan Autisma Prananda Kota Bandung Kata kunci: dental health education; anak gangguan spektrum autisme; video-modeling

ABSTRAKPendahuluan: Maloklusi adalah salah satu masalah gigi dan mulut yang paling banyak terjadi di Indonesia. Penyimpangan fungsi rongga mulut berupa kebiasaan bernapas melalui mulut dapat menjadi faktor etiologi maloklusi. Bernapas merupakan fungsi rongga mulut yang pertama kali mengalami maturasi, sehingga pengetahuan orang tua anak usia dini penting dalam mencegah timbulnya kebiasaan bernapas melalui mulut pada anak. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mengetahui tingkat pengetahuan orang tua anak usia dini mengenai kebiasaan bernapas melalui mulut sebagai etiologi maloklusi. Metode: Jenis penelitian adalah deskriptif analitik dengan teknik pengambilan sampel cluster random sampling dan simple random sampling. Penelitian dilakukan terhadap 92 orang tua murid TK Ibunda, TK Islam Raih Impian, dan TK Islam Bukit Indah. Instrumen penelitian menggunakan kuesioner sejumlah 15 butir pertanyaan. Hasil: Sebanyak 5 responden (5,4%) berada di kategori tingkat pengetahuan rendah, 45 responden (48,9%) pada kategori sedang, dan 42 responden (45,7) pada kategori tinggi. Karakteristik responden yaitu jenis kelamin, usia, pendidikan, dan status pekerjaan tidak berpengaruh secara signifikan terhadap tingkat pengetahuan berdasarkan analisis statistik (p > 0,05). Simpulan: Tingkat pengetahuan orang tua anak usia dini mengenai kebiasaan bernapas melalui mulut sebagai etiologi maloklusi termasuk dalam kategori sedang.Kata kunci: Tingkat pengetahuan; orang tua anak usia dini; kebiasaan bernapas melalui mulut; maloklusi ABSTRACTIntroduction: Malocclusion is one of Indonesia’s most frequent dental problems. The abnormality of oral function, such as mouth breathing habits, could be the etiology of malocclusion. Breathing is the first oral function that undergoes maturation; thus, the knowledge of preschool children’s parents is important to prevent children from developing mouth breathing habits. This study aimed to describe the level of knowledge among preschool children’s parents about mouth breathing habits as the etiology of malocclusion. Method: A descriptive analytics study was conducted towards 92 preschool children’s parents of TK Ibunda, TK Islam Raih Impian, and TK Islam Bukit Indah using random cluster sampling and simple random sampling technique. A questionnaire consisting of 15 questions was used. Results: There were 5 parents (5,4%) in low category of knowledge level, 45 parents (48,9%) in moderate category, and 42 parents (45,7) in high category. According to statistical analytics, there is no significant correlation between parents’ characteristics (gender, age, education, and employment status) and their knowledge level (p > 0,05). Conclusion: The level of knowledge about mouth breathing habits as the etiology of malocclusion among preschool children’s parents was moderate.Keywords: Level of knowledge; preschool children’s parents; mouth breathing habits; malocclusion.

Purpose: Spatial perception is an essential skill for professional dentists. The objective of this study was to observe the spatial ability, as well as anatomy module grades, of dental students at a dental education center in Indonesia and relate these to gender and cohort.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out where dental students in years (cohorts) 1, 2, 4–6 were invited to take the Revised Purdue Spatial Visualization Test (PSVT-R) and the redrawn Vandenberg and Kuse Mental Rotation Test (MRT) in order to assess spatial ability. In addition, the 1st- and 2nd-year dental students carried out gross anatomy assessments. Spatial ability test results were compared using an independent t-test to detect gender differences, one-way analysis of variance to inspect cohort differences, and correlation relative to anatomy module scores.Results: A total of 326 dental students voluntarily participated. Statistically significant gender differences were found in both spatial ability tests in the overall sample (PSVT-R: p<0.001; MRT: p=0.001). When the 1st- and 2nd-year dental students were pooled, significant gender differences were detected, in which males scored higher than females in both spatial ability tests (PSVT-R: p<0.001; MRT: p=0.003). In anatomy, however, females scored higher than the males (p=0.005). In addition, there were weak to moderate, but significant correlations between spatial ability tests and anatomy scores.Conclusion: This study indicated that spatial ability may not be the only factor predicting the academic performance of dental students. However, dental students with low spatial ability scores may need supplementary educational techniques when learning specific spatial tasks.

Introduction: Dental caries is a multifactorial disease that invades the hard tissues of the teeth. Dental caries is among the most common oral manifestations in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social interactions, communication difficulties, and restricted repetitive behavior. ASD children have a higher risk of dental caries due to their difficulty maintaining good oral hygiene and poor diet, such as having a high preference for cariogenic foods. This study aims to analyze the association between cariogenic foods consumption frequency and the occurrence of dental caries in ASD children. Methods: Quantitative study was performed with a cross-sectional design and total sampling techniques on 15 ASD children. Data analysis using Spearman Rank test. Results: This study found (66,7%) of ASD children had low levels of cariogenic foods consumption. Respectively, the ASD children’s deft and DMFT indices were (3.3) and (4.4). A significant value between the frequency of consumption of cariogenic foods and DMFT/deft was (0.297). The level of relationship between the frequency of consumption of cariogenic foods with DMFT/deft is (0.289), indicating a low association. Conclusions: There is no association between cariogenic foods consumption frequency and the occurrence of dental caries in children with ASD. The average indices of DMFT and deft of ASD children are at moderate levels. ASD children have low levels of cariogenic food consumption frequency.Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Cariogenic Foods, Dental Caries.