Penguatan Peran Keluarga Dalam Pemeliharaan Kesehatan Gigi Anak Usia Dini Untuk Pencegahan Stunting

Abstract

Early childhood oral health is closely related to eating comfort and the quality of life of children. Dental caries may cause pain and difficulty chewing, potentially interfering with food intake. This community service activity was conducted at Al Amin Islamic Kindergarten, Martapura, Banjar Regency, to strengthen family involvement in maintaining children's oral health and to improve parents' knowledge and children's toothbrushing skills. The activity involved 92 parents or guardians and 92 kindergarten pupils. Parents' knowledge was assessed using a questionnaire, while children's toothbrushing skills were evaluated through observation before and after the educational activities. The intervention consisted of oral health education for parents, age-appropriate education for children, demonstrations using dental models and toothbrushes, guided toothbrushing practice, topical fluoride application using the Tooth Mouse product as recorded in the activity report, and weekly monitoring by teachers. The proportion of parents in the good-knowledge category increased from 38.0% (35 people) before education to 76.1% (70 people) afterward. The proportion of children with good toothbrushing skills increased from 19.6% (18 children) to 78.3% (72 children). The proportion in the poor category decreased from 18.5% to 2.2% among parents and from 30.4% to 2.2% among children. These findings describe improvements in the measured knowledge and skills following the activity. However, the report does not provide inferential statistical testing, a comparison group, or measurements of nutritional status and stunting. Therefore, the findings should not be interpreted as evidence that the activity directly reduced stunting. Continued collaboration between families and schools is recommended to maintain daily toothbrushing habits.