Mothers' choice of toothpaste for their children: evaluation of fluoride content

Background: It is essential that mothers, as the primary caregivers of children, are well-informed about the oral and dental health products their children use. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the information provided by mothers concerning the toothpaste used by their children. Methods: A total of 133 mothers of children who presented to the Inonu Dentistry Pedodontics Clinic were randomly selected for inclusion in this study. The research was conducted in two phases involving the mothers. Chi-square tests were employed to compare categorical variables, while the McNemar test was used to assess differences between repeated or paired measurements. Results: The pediatric dentist’s examination of the toothpastes revealed that 61.7% of the samples contained fluoride levels appropriate for the children’s age. In contrast, the fluoride content in the toothpastes used by 21.8% of the children was deemed inadequate for their age. A statistically significant but weak agreement was found between the assessments of mothers and the pediatric dentist concerning the presence of fluoride in the children’s toothpaste. Conclusions: The reports provided by mothers concerning the fluoride content of the toothpaste used by their children were found to be inaccurate.