The influence of knowledge of dental and oral health maintenance on the incidence of dental caries in dental poly patients at Konawe Selatan general hospital, southeast Sulawesi province, Indonesia

Indonesia is one of the developing countries that has dental caries problems with a prevalence that tends to be high, namely 88.8%. The incidence of dental caries is influenced by dental and oral health maintenance behavior which includes knowledge, attitudes, and actions. Research Objectives To determine the effect of knowledge of dental and oral health maintenance on the incidence of dental caries in dental poly patients. The type of research used is an observational survey with a design cross sectional study. Sampling technique is done in a way accidental sampling. The research sample is 100 respondents. Data analysis was performed using univariate and bivariate. The results showed that there was a significant effect between the variable knowledge of dental and oral health maintenance on the incidence of dental caries in dental poly patients with a value p-value=0.002. Conclusion; there is a significant effect between the variable knowledge of dental and oral health maintenance on the incidence of dental caries in dental polyclinic patients at the Konawe Selatan District General Hospital in 2022. Suggestion; The need to increase public knowledge through education, socialization, and guidance to the community on how to maintain dental and oral health by health workers, so as to encourage community motivation and awareness of the importance of maintaining dental and oral healt