Depok, June 15th 2023. As many as 51 students of the Orthodontic Specialist Dentistry Education Program (PPDGS) Class of 2019–2022, Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Indonesia (FKG UI) held a Social Service at SDN Bumi Agung, Kalianda District, South Lampung, Lampung. This activity was supervised by 12 lecturers from the Department of Orthodontics FKG UI.
Head of the Orthodontics Department of FKG UI, Dr. drg. Retno Widayati, Sp.Ort(K), said that this activity aims to increase public knowledge about dental and oral health, increase awareness about dental and dental craniofacial disorders, and introduce orthodontic treatment to students and teachers. In this series of activities, Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) data was collected to see the level of need for orthodontic treatment in Bumi Agung State Elementary School students.
This social service was packaged with various activities, one of which was counseling. The FKG UI students socialized the importance of orthodontic treatment to prevent dental and oral problems. Orthodontic treatment is treatment in the field of dentistry to correct disharmony in the development of the jaw and teeth. Poor connection between the teeth in the upper and lower jaw can cause health problems, including worn teeth, loose teeth, trauma to the teeth due to excessive pressure when chewing, as well as disturbances and pain in the jaw joints (Temporomandibular Joint Disorder -TMD ) .
Proper orthodontic treatment can improve oral health. Neat and orderly teeth are easy to clean, which prevents cavities, tartar, gum inflammation, and jaw bone damage. With regular teeth, the function of mastication becomes more optimal. A person’s facial esthetics and speech functions also get better because the arrangement and position of the teeth greatly affect the phonetic function for speech articulation.
There are various devices used in orthodontic treatment, such as removable orthodontic appliance, fixed orthodontic appliance, combined removable and fixed orthodontic appliance, and orthodontic appliance for children. The community is certainly no stranger to fixed appliances or braces. This appliance is permanently attached to the patient’s teeth during orthodontic treatment, to correct the occlusion and alignment of the teeth in various cases and ages. The types of braces used can be adjusted to the case and the needs of the patient, such as metal braces, ceramic braces, self-ligating braces, and lingual braces.
During the counseling session, the FKG UI students also explained material about malocclusion, clean and healthy lifestyle (PHBS), and how to brush your teeth properly and correctly. The program was then continued with joint tooth brushing (SiGiBer) activities, collective hand washing (CiTaBer), IOTN examinations, filling out activity evaluation questionnaires, distribution of toothbrushes and toothpaste, and handing over flip charts and posters on dental and oral health to the school.
According to the Dean of FKG UI, Dr. drg. Nia Ayu Ismaniati, MDSc., Sp.Ort(K), the community service which was held on 15-17 May 2023 was a realization of one of the pillars of the Three Principles of Higher Education. The FKG UI students provided health and education services needed by the community, through promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative approaches.
“We hope that this social service will have a positive impact on the community in Kalianda District, South Lampung. The implementation of this activity can be interpreted as a real contribution by the FKG UI community in supporting the government to realize sustainable health development in all corners of Indonesia. This is done in order to achieve a high degree of public health, as an investment in the development of socially and economically productive human resources,” said Dr. Nia.
