• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.49-62
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• 2017

Objectives: This study was conducted to suggest the necessity of education about toothpaste usage to infants, preschoolers, and their parents. Also, another purpose is to provide basic data that is necessary for oral health education about accurate cognition and usage of toothpaste. Methods: From October to December 2015, we conducted a survey on parents of 0~4 years old infants and preschoolers about toothpaste usage based on the data of a questionnaire with a total of 505 subjects. The survey questions were composed of general characteristics of infants, preschoolers and their parents, and toothpaste usage. Results: Usage frequency of toothpaste for infants and preschoolers increased with age (p<0.001), and infants and preschoolers in homes with monthly income under 4 million won showed high frequency of toothpaste usage (p<0.001). Toothpaste mouth rinsing of infants and preschoolers increased with age (p<0.001), while on the other hand, toothpaste swallowing decreased (p<0.001). Conclusions: In this study, it was shown that the factors that effect toothpaste usage in infants and preschoolers were age and average monthly income of the family. This suggests the necessity of oral health education to parents about usage of toothpaste in infants and preschoolers.