Oral Hygiene Practices and Fluoride Toothpaste Use in Children Under 3 Years Old in Lima, Peru: A Cross-Sectional...

Early childhood caries (ECC) is the most common noncommunicable disease in children, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The daily use of fluoride toothpaste is the most effective strategy for caries prevention and control. This study aims to determine the oral hygiene practices and use of fluoride toothpaste in children under 3 years old.

Using a questionnaire about oral hygiene habits, this cross-sectional study surveyed 502 parents and caregivers of children under 3 years old during pediatric check-ups at a hospital in Lima, Peru. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data; absolute and relative frequencies were calculated for categorical variables. Quantitative variables were assessed using graphical methods, descriptive statistics, and summarized as medians and interquartile ranges due to their nonnormal distribution. Fisher's exact test was applied to assess the association between the toothpaste type and the child's age, with a significance level of 0.05.

Some form of oral hygiene was reported in 79.5% (n = 399) of children. While 27.5% (n = 138) of parents/caregivers brushed their children's teeth with toothpaste at least twice daily. Only 19.3% (n = 97) of them used a toothpaste with at least 1000 ppm F on a daily basis. The most commonly used amount of toothpaste was 1/8 of the brush head (45.5%). The most common sources of recommendation regarding the type of toothpaste were dentists, physicians, and pharmacy staff.

Despite current global recommendations, only a small proportion of children under 3 years of age used fluoride toothpaste containing at least 1000 ppm, and age-related differences were observed. These findings highlight the need for pediatric dentists to strengthen parental education and to support the training of both dental and nondental health professionals in evidence-based oral hygiene practices in early childhood.