Resumo

JAGHER, Aline Cardoso de; RIPPLINGER, Tamara; PINTO, Gabriela dos Santos  e  SCHARDOSIM, Lisandrea Rocha. Fluoride toothpaste use evaluation in children. RFO UPF [online]. 2016, vol.21, n.1, pp. 38-42. ISSN 1413-4012.

Introduction: Fluoride toothpaste is one of the main forms of prevention and control of caries in children. Objective: To assess the use of fluoride toothpastes by children who sought dental care at a higher education institution. Subjets and method: This cross-sectional study involved parents/guardians and children who sought care in Child Clinic Units of the School of Dentistry, Federal University of Pelotas, RS, Brazil, from January 14 to 19, 2014. An interview was conducted with the guardians of children to collect demographic and socioeconomic data, hygiene habits, and previous dental visits. An illustrative brochure about the quantities of toothpaste was shown, and the guardian was asked to apply toothpaste on the toothbrush. The brushes were weighed on a precision scale. Data were analyzed in the Stata 10.0 software. Results: The study included 87 children, aged between 3 and 12 years, from which 50 (56.8%) regularly attended the institution. Eighty-two children (96.5%) used the appropriate concentration of fluoride toothpaste, which was introduced before 1 year old to 27 of them (31.8%). Sixty-eight percent of children was responsible for their own toothbrushing and 73.6% for applying toothpaste on the toothbrush. Conclusions: Guardians were unaware of the proper age to introduce toothpaste and of the risks of developing fluorosis. The findings suggest that further efforts should be applied for instructing about the proper use of fluoride toothpastes by children, especially in the academic environment.

Palavras-chave : Child.; Fluoride.; Toothbrushing.; Toothpastes..