The association between sweet food consumption, time of tooth brushing and dental caries experience in 12-to 15-year-old children in indonesia (analysis of indonesian health basic research data, 2013)

Dental caries is a global public health problem and the most prevalent oral disease. Oral hygiene and sweet food consumption are acknowledged causes of dental caries, among others. The purpose of this study was to determine the magnitude of the association between dental caries and oral health care behavior. The study design was cross-sectional, using Riskesdas 2013 data. The sample size was 18,415 Indonesian children aged 12-15years. Result: The dental caries prevalence was 51.4%. When compared with children with good oral health care behaviors, children with a combination of poor behaviors showed a 2.26 fold higher association with caries (95% CI: 1.39-3.68). By contrast, children who brushed their teeth at inappropriate times or consumed sweet foods more frequently had 1.92 times (1.13-3.26) and 2.03 times (95% CI: 1.24-3.32) higher risks of getting dental caries, respectively. Thus, the combination of poor oral health behavior and sweet food consumption can increase the magnitude of the associated risk of getting dental caries.