THE EFFECT OF CONSUMING YOGHURT ON THE SALIVARY PH OF MILDLY MENTALLY RETARTED CHILDREN

The percentage of people with disabilities in Indonesia is 56% and the prevalence of dental caries in children with disabilities reaches 82.6%. One alternative to prevent dental caries is by consuming probiotic drinks such as yogurt. Yoghurt is sour milk produced by fermenting milk and the group of probiotic products most accepted by children. Objective: This study aims to determine the effect of consuming yogurt on the pH of saliva of children with mild deformities SLB Patriot Tasikmalaya City. Methods: The type of research used is a quasi experiment research method with a one group pre-test and post-test research design with a sample of 20 mildly retarded children. The research measuring instrument used a pH meter, and the data was analyzed using a paired sample t-test. Results: Based on the results of the paired sample t-test statistical test, the p-value = 0.001 (p < 0.05) means that there is an effect of consuming yogurt on the pH of the saliva of mildly retarded children of SLB Patriot Tasikmalaya City. Conclusion: Consuming yogurt regularly for seven days can increase salivary pH in mildly retarded children.