SALIVA FLOW RATE AND PLAQUE SCORE IN CONVENTIONAL SMOKERS

Background: Smoking had become a common habit in the community. The Lampung Dormitory in Yogyakarta had found that people who had consumed cigarettes for more than 1 year had a moderate level of dental and oral hygiene. Teeth and mouths could be said to be clean if they were free of dirt such as debris, plaque, and calculus. Purpose: This study aimed to analyze the relationship between saliva flow rate and plaque score in conventional smokers in Lampung Dormitory. Methods: A type quantitative research with an observational analytical approach was used, employing a cross-sectional design. The population of this study was conventional cigarette users aged 18–30. The number of samples in this study was 70 respondents with sampling using the purposive sampling technique. The research variables were saliva flow rate and plaque score. Saliva was taken by the spitting method, and the plaque scores were measured using the PHP (Personal Hygiene Performance) index. Data analysis used bivariate analysis in the form of a chi-square test. Results: Smokers had a low criterion saliva flow rate (50.0%), and smokers had a poor criterion plaque score (45.7%). The average saliva flow rate was low (0.29±0.08), and the plaque score was poor (2.85±0.81). based on the chi-square test showed that p-value was 0.000. Conclusion: There was a significant relationship between saliva flow rate and plaque score in conventional smokers.