Gambaran Strategi Perubahan Perilaku Kesehatan Gigi pada Anak Pra Sekolah di Kecamatan Jelbuk Kabupaten Jember

Abstract

Introduction: The dental problem in Jelbuk District, Jember Regency is 94.439. Behavioural factors play an important role in influencing oral health status as evidenced by the correct tooth brushing behaviour of the Indonesian population which has increased from 2.8% in 2018 to 6.2% in 2023. Jelbuk Sub-district is one of the areas with the highest caries prevalence and ranked third in Jember Regency in caries cases. The dental health problems in Jelbuk Subdistrict in pre-school children, especially rampant caries and Early Childhood Caries (ECC), is due to the low knowledge of parents. This study aims to examine the strategy of changing dental health behaviour in pre-school children classified as complience, identification, or internalizing. Methods: This study was conducted in the working area of Puskesmas and KB-TK of Jelbuk District, Jember Regency in July-October 2024. The methodology used in this study was descriptive observational with a cross-sectional approach. The population of this study involved 268 children aged 3-6 years selected through purposive sampling technique. Data were obtained through a questionnaires on pre-school children's dental health behaviour and pre-school children's behaviour change strategies.Result: Most of the preschool children had fair dental health behaviour (65,7%). Based on age group, good behaviour was most dominant in children aged 5 years (61,6%). Regarding behaviour change strategies, the most dominant strategy seen was the identification strategy (imitation) dominated at 52.6% and the least used strategy was the complience strategy (forced) behaviour change at 1.9%. Conclusion: The majority of pre-school children's dental health behaviour was in the fair category (65,7%). The identification strategy (imitation) dominated at 52.6% as a method of behaviour change in preschool children in all age groups. While the complience strategy (forced) was found at 1.9%.