| dc.description.abstract | BACKGROUND: The coastal region is the largest region in Indonesia as a country of the archipelago.
Characteristics of groundwater content in coastal areas are very influential on dental health, especially dental
caries. The main elements contained in 1-1000 mg/litre groundwater are calcium, magnesium, sodium,
potassium, chlorine, bicarbonate, and sulfate groups. Calcium is an essential ingredient for living organisms that
play a role in the formation of bone and tooth along with permeability of cell walls.
AIM: This study aimed to analyse the relationship between calcium in groundwater with dental caries.
METHOD: Analytical observational study with cross-sectional approach was implemented was coastal
communities in Watu Ulo Jember Regency in February 2018 (3,686 inhabitants), with sample criteria of the
minimum age of 12 years and consumed groundwater as drinking water at least 2 years by purposive side. The
variables in this study were calcium levels as the independent variable and dental caries as the dependent
variable. Calcium was measured using the spectrophotometric method. Caries measurements were performed
using the DMF-T index. Data were presented descriptively in the table and analysed by Spearman Correlation test
to analyze the relationship between groundwater calcium with dental caries.
RESULTS: Average groundwater calcium content was 126.75 mg/litre (high category), and average dental caries
was 2.2 (low category). Spearman correlation analysis showed p = 0.029 (p < 0.000), which means there was a
correlation between groundwater calcium level with dental caries. | en_US |
