2021 Volume 59 Issue 1 Pages 1-7
It is important for pediatric dentists to find effective means of communicating oral hygiene instructions to their patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of fluoride toothpaste use by child patients in order to promote its proper use. The subjects were 383 children under 13 years old who visited the Pediatric Dentistry Department of Chiba Dental Center, Tokyo Dental College, from May 2018 to April 2020. The use of fluoride toothpaste was surveyed by questionnaire, with the following results:
1. The rate of fluoride toothpaste usage of all subjects was 88.6% and 91.0% among 6 to 12 year-old children.
2. When asked about the fluoride concentration of the toothpaste they used, most subjects answered that they did not know. Furthermore, only 9.5% of the subjects aged 0 to 2, 1.0% of those aged 3 to 5, and 10.5% of those aged 6 to 12 years selected toothpaste containing an appropriate fluoride concentration for their age and used an appropriate amount.
3. As for the effect of fluoride, 81.8% of the subjects answered that they understood it to some extent, while 220 indicated that they had obtained such knowledge “from a dentist and/or dental hygienist.”
4. The most common reasons given for selection of a specific toothpaste were “dental caries prevention” and “contained fluoride.”
We conclude that accurate and adequate information regarding fluoride toothpaste is important for effective caries prevention. Additionally, it is recommended that the fluoride concentration be indicated on the toothpaste package to promote appropriate age-specific use of fluoride toothpaste.
