Introduction: Twice daily toothbrushing with fluoridated toothpaste is recommended as a cost-effective and clinically effective means of reducing caries for all the dentate children. Effective tooth brushing prevents dental plaque and caries and thus helps in oral hygiene maintenance. The choice of toothpaste by children has been attributed to smell, taste, and colour of the toothpaste. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the factors responsible for selecting a particular toothpaste in terms of taste and smell amongst children 6-8 years of age.
Materials and Methods: An observational study with a convenience sample of 100 children from the private schools of Gurugram in the age group of 6-8 years was carried out. A validated questionnaire was completed by the school children regarding factors such as the influence of family, media, and the dentist as well as the flavour, colour, and packaging of toothpaste that affect children's perspective in choosing a toothpaste. The preference of flavour in their toothpaste was also sought.
Results: The results of the study revealed that the flavour (73%) of a toothpaste was the major factor associated with toothpaste choice from the children's perspective, followed by toothpaste colour (67%), with strawberry (35%) being the most preferred flavour followed by mango (30%).