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Amount of toothpaste used by dental students
Shekev Limacher1, Lea Angst1, Murali Srinivasan1
1Clinic for General-, Special Care- and Geriatric Dentistry, Center of Dental Medicine, University of Zurich.
Journal of Oral Science
|August 23, 2023
Summary
Dental students use more toothpaste with more cumulative learning and larger toothbrush heads. Factors like educational attainment and sex also influence toothpaste amount, but fluoride content does not. This research aids in understanding dental hygiene practices.
Area of Science:
- Dental Hygiene
- Oral Health Research
- Behavioral Science in Dentistry
Background:
- Understanding factors influencing toothpaste usage is crucial for effective oral hygiene education.
- Previous research has not comprehensively examined the interplay of learning, demographics, and physical tool characteristics on dispensed toothpaste volume.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the associations between cumulative learning, demographic factors, fluoride concentration, and toothbrush head size with the quantity of toothpaste dispensed by dental students.
- To identify key determinants of toothpaste usage in a controlled academic setting.
Main Methods:
- Recruitment of third- and fifth-year dental students.
- Standardized dispensing of three types of toothpaste (pediatric, regular fluoride, high fluoride) onto five distinct toothbrush types (rotation-oscillation, sonic, manual pediatric, two manual adult).
- Measurement of dispensed toothpaste volume by weight and length, followed by nonparametric correlation analysis.
Main Results:
- Third-year students dispensed significantly more toothpaste by weight and length compared to fifth-year students.
- Male participants and those with higher educational attainment dispensed greater quantities of toothpaste.
- Toothbrush type and head size demonstrated significant associations with dispensed toothpaste volume, while fluoride content did not.
Conclusions:
- Cumulative learning, educational attainment, sex, and toothbrush head size are significant predictors of toothpaste quantity used by dental students.
- Fluoride content of toothpaste does not appear to influence the amount dispensed in this study population.
- Findings highlight the importance of considering user-specific and tool-related factors in dental hygiene practices and education.
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