Practices of oral health maintenance, caries protective factors and caries experience in adults in Sekeloa Region

Abstract

Introduction: Dental caries is still the most common oral disease experienced in Indonesia. Caries is caused by various factors. Practices in maintaining proper oral health are urgently needed to maintain healthy teeth and mouth to avoid various diseases, including caries. Caries prevention is inseparable from the role of protective factors that maintain the caries balance. This study was aimed at discovering the level of oral health maintenance practices, caries protective factors, as well as caries experience in adults in Sekeloa Region. Methods: The research method was descriptive cross-sectional with purposive sampling technique. The sample consisted of 61 permanent residents aged 35-44 years in South Sekeloa. Data was collected through questionnaire and DMF-T index examination. Discussion: Dental health maintenance practices including frequency, times, duration, techniques, type of brush bristles, use of brushes according to its lifetime, use of fluoride-containing toothpaste, use of interdental cleaning tools, frequency of dental visits, frequency of scaling procedures, and food consumption along with caries protective factors including the consumption of non-cariogenic snacks, xylitol chewing gum, use of chlorhexidine or fluoride mouthwash, pit and fissure sealant and topical fluoride treatments play an important role in preventing caries. Results: This study shows that subjects performed good practices of oral health maintenance (47.54%), adequate (50.82%), bad (1.64%), and good caries protective factors (1.64%), adequate (52.46%), bad (45.90%). The caries experience degree reached 9.13 and was categorized as moderate. Conclusion: The degree of caries experience in adults aged 35-44 years in the Sekeloa Region was moderate, oral health maintenance practices and caries protective factors were adequate.

Risk factors for dental caries in adults aged 35-44 years in DKI Jakarta: a cross-sectional study using the 2018 national Riskesdas data

“…The majority of respondents in this study knew that brushing their teeth in the morning was right, but the majority did not understand that the right time in the morning was after breakfast. 30 This finding is similar to that of Rahardjo et al, which found that only 12% of respondents with caries brushed their teeth twice a day. 31 This supports the findings of this study, which showed that 97.2% of the respondents had a higher prevalence of brushing teeth at the incorrect time.…”

Dietary Habits and Oral Hygiene as Determinants of the Incidence and Intensity of Dental Caries—A Pilot Study

“…There are also foods that, due to their chemical composition and effects on the oral environment, can effectively protect the dentition against the development of pathological processes [12,13]. Cow milk proteins reduce the adhesion of cariogenic bacteria to hydroxyapatite, thus reducing the ability of the bacteria to metabolise sugars, resulting in a decrease in plaque mass.…”

“…Calcium and phosphate, supplied with milk, contribute to remineralisation by saturating the enamel and saliva with these mineral ions. Milk and its unsweetened products are highly recommended for the prevention of dental caries [6,13,14]. A particularly important group of products whose primary ingredient is milk are hard cheeses (parmesan, pecorino, and grana padano).…”

“…A particularly important group of products whose primary ingredient is milk are hard cheeses (parmesan, pecorino, and grana padano). Their consumption is followed by the formation of a phosphopeptide-casein complex with calcium phosphate, which provides a reservoir of calcium ions for the enamel mineralisation and acts on plaque by raising the pH value [6,13,15]. Arginine-rich foods (nuts, soya, tuna, and some vegetables) have similar, rapid pH-raising properties.…”

“…Additionally, changes in the pH of the oral environment result in an increase in the levels of Streptococcus sanguinis and Streptococcus gordonii, which are associated with protection against pathological processes, at the expense of the bacteria that induce these processes [16][17][18]. Among the many properties of fibre affecting the human body, a not insignificant one is the prevention of the development of the caries process by slowing glucose absorption and enhancing saliva production [8,12,13]. A multidirectional mechanism of caries reduction by compounds from the polyphenol group, which occur in vegetables, fruits, coffee, and tea, has been confirmed in studies.…”