Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of fluoride toothpaste in the Tokyo metropolitan population. In 2000, a questionnaire survey was conducted in Tokyo. The total sample was 4,329 participants : 161 preschool children, 1,388 primary school children, 636 junior high school students and 2,144 adults (parents of the children). The following results were obtained. Over 96% of the total samples reported a habit of daily tooth brushing with an average of 2 times brushing per day. For preschool and primary school children, about 15% never used toothpaste when they brushed their teeth. The rates of regular use of fluoride toothpaste were 48.1% (preschool), 48.8% (primary school), 63.7% (junior high school) and 65.5% (adults). When irregular users were included, the figures increased to 83.5% (preschool), 76.0% (primary school), 76.2% (junior high school) and 77.0% (adults). If the parents were fluoride toothpaste users, the rate of fluoride toothpaste use by their children was 98.3%. If parents did not use fluoride toothpaste, the rate of use by their children decreased to 52.3%. "Prevention of dental caries" and "prevention of periodontal disease" were the reasons given for use of toothpaste. The reasons why others did not use toothpaste were : "unpleasant taste", "do not like the bubble affect", "child cannot rinse as yet", "bothersome", "advice from a dentist" for children, and "fear of tooth abrasion", "harmful", "do not know effectiveness", "advice from a dentist" for adults. These results suggest that the children's toothbrushing practices were strongly influenced by their parents' toothbrushing behavior, and that some dentists did not recommend using toothpaste for brushing the teeth. We concluded that accurate and adequate information targeted to both the general population and dental professionals are necessary to promote the appropriate use of fluoride toothpaste for prevention of dental caries.
