UTILIZAÇÃO DE DENTIFRÍCIOS POR CRIANÇAS DO ENSINO INFANTIL DO MUNICÍPIO DE SANTA MARIA 1 USE OF TOOTHPASTE IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN IN THE MUNICIPALITY

The use of fluoridated toothpaste contributes to the prevention of carious lesions; however, its indiscriminate use during childhood may lead to the development of dental fluorosis. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess the toothpaste-use profile of preschool children in the municipality of Santa Maria, RS. The data were collected by distributing questionnaires to the parents and/or caretakers of the children enrolled in public and private preschools within the municipality. A total of 200 questionnaires were completed; the average age of the children was 47.2±14.3 months. The findings of both the transverse (51%) as well as the smear techniques (33.3%) showed that the children were using an adequate amount of toothpaste. With regards to concentration of fluoride, 33.9 and 36.8% of the childrenused toothpastes containing 1100 and 1500ppm of fluoride, respectively; 16.4% of the children, particularly those of younger age, used non-fluoridated toothpaste. We can conclude that toothpaste use in most children in the assessed sample was adequate.