Awareness of toothbrushing and dentifrice habits in regularly dental care receiving adults.

The aim of this study was to investigate toothbrushing and dentifrice habits in a Swedish adult population with relatively high caries frequency, which received regularly dental care and to evaluate the awareness of their toothbrush technique. Sixty adult participants with high caries frequency, 29 woman and 31 men, answered a self-reporting questionnaire with 42 questions concerning their oral care, brushing technique and -habits.The responses were related to their clinical behaviour observed during a customary toothbrushing session. Fifty-three participants fulfilled both the questionnaire and the clinical observation. Half of these used toothpaste containing 1450-1500 ppm fluoride but only one of all participants was aware of the fluoride concentration used. The majority used a manual toothbrush and 95% brushed their teeth twice a day using 0.9 g toothpaste. A wide range of brushing methods and habits was observed. Sixty percent did not brush systematically. Spitting of toothpaste-saliva during brushing was performed by 60% and after brushing by 15%.The observed brushing times were significantly higher than the self reported. The observed brushing times were <1 min: 3.4%, 1-2 min: 36.7% and >2 min: 47.0%. There was a significant correlation between observed brushing time and caries activity. Rinsing with water after brushing was performed once (32%) or twice (44%) during the observations. Only 9% rinsed with toothpaste slurry after brushing. It can be concluded that the awareness of the individual toothbrushing, post-brushing behaviour and the use of fluoride toothpaste was non-optimal in the adult participants. Oral health promotion by optimalized use of fluoride toothpaste and improved post-brushing behaviour should be recommended.