EARLY CHILDHOOD CARIES (ECC) WITH NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF CHILDREN

Abstract

Balanced nutrition must be applied from early childhood because this group includes important age groups and critical groups for human development. Data on stunting for toddlers at the West Java Province level in 2021 obtained 8.3%. The results of the 2018 Basic Health Research or Riskesdas stated that 93 percent of early childhood, namely in the age range of 5-6 years, had cavities. A child who has lost some of his teeth cannot eat well except for soft foods. So it is indicated that there is a correlation between dental health and nutritional status. Research objective: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between early childhood caries and the nutritional status of children under five. Method: The research method used was descriptive research with a cross sectional design. The sampling technique is proportional clustered random sampling, where from a total population of 167 toddlers, 118 toddlers are obtained as samples. Results: the study showed that there was a relationship between early childhood caries and the nutritional status of children under five, with the results of the Chi Square test analysis obtaining a probability value (ρ-value) = 0.000 (< α: 0.05). Conclusion: Based on this research, there is a strong relationship between early childhood caries and the nutritional status of children under five.