| dc.description.abstract | The Assessment of Caries Risk Factors Using the Cariogram Application in Namira Junior High School Students in Medan City.
xi + 58 pages
Dental caries is a chronic disease of the hard dental tissues that causes tooth decay. One of the efforts that can be made to prevent caries is by predicting the likelihood of future caries using the Kariogram, which consists of ten parameters: caries experience, history of general diseases, snack content, snack frequency, plaque index, S. mutans count, fluoride use, saliva secretion, saliva buffer capacity, and clinical assessment. However, using just seven or eight parameters can already indicate the level of caries risk. This study aims to assess the caries risk factors using the Kariogram measured with eight parameters, determine the average of each sector based on these parameters, and identify the caries risk level. The type of research is descriptive survey with a cross-sectional design. The study involved 119 respondents selected through simple random sampling. Caries risk factor measurements using the Kariogram were conducted through interviews for parameters related to snack content, snack frequency, and fluoride use. Then, intraoral examinations were conducted for parameters such as caries experience, plaque index, saliva secretion, and saliva buffer capacity. The results showed that the percentage of respondents with low caries experience was 37%, 7.6% of respondents routinely used fluoride toothpaste and rinsed with fluoride solution, and 6.7% had very low saliva secretion. The average percentage for the green sector (chance of avoiding new caries) was the highest at 62.47%, followed by the light blue sector (susceptibility) and the red sector (bacteria) at 13.11% and 11.54%, respectively. A total of 52.1% of respondents had a moderate caries risk and 12.6% had a high risk. In conclusion, most respondents had a reasonable chance of avoiding new caries in the future, provided the examination parameters remain unchanged as factors contributing to oral cavity caries. | en_US |
