DENTAL'S AREA LEARNING MODEL AS AN EFFORT TO IMPROVE KNOWLEDGE AND TEETH BRUSHING SKILLS PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

Background: Preschool children have different characteristics from children of other ages, so that maximizing their cognitive, affective and psychomotor potential requires appropriate learning methods. Dental's Learning Area Model is a dental health education model that gives preschool children, especially the 3-4 year age group, the choice to choose the areas they want to learn about dental and oral health so that with this choice children are able to optimize learning according to their criteria and abilities. Objective: Develop a Dental's Area Learning Model as an effort to increase knowledge and skills in brushing teeth and reduce the Plaque Control Record (PCR) of preschool children. Method: Quasy Experiment Pretest And Posttest With Control Group Design, Research subjects were preschool children aged 3-4 years who were divided into 2 groups: 1. Dental's Area Learning Model intervention for 14 days through 4 stages of activities, namely training, simulation, brushing practice teeth and evaluation in children. 2. 14 day tooth brushing model as control. Dependent variable: knowledge and teeth brushing skills. Data were tested using Wilcoxon and Independent t-test. Results: Dental's Area Learning Model is effective in increasing students' knowledge of brushing teeth with a p-value of =0.000 and brushing skills with a p-value of 0.000 (<0.05). Conclusion: Dental's Area Learning Model is effective in increasing knowledge and teeth brushing skills in preschool children