Toothpaste Flavors Preference to Self-Oral Cleaning Behavior of Young Individuals

Objectives: To determine whether three new toothpaste flavors (Mint Chocolate Trek, Vanilla Mint Spark, and Lime Spearmint Zest) could improve oral hygiene habits in children ages 7-17 undergoing orthodontic treatment.
Methods: Protocol was approved by WVU IRB. Upon the initial visit, participants (n=90) completed a demographic and socioeconomic survey, a modified Plaque Score (Turesky et al. 1970), a Gingival Index (Loe and Silness, 1963) and a preference of toothpaste score using the Likert scale. Participants were provided the toothpaste of their choice, instructed to brush twice per day for a month. The plaque score, gingival index and toothpaste score were re-evaluated at a follow-up visit and participants were asked whether they would continue to use the product. Data were analyzed using repeated measures of ANOVA, two tailed paired t-tests, and chi squared tests (α = 0.05).
Results: Mint Chocolate Trek was the flavor chosen most frequently (54.4%) followed by Vanilla Mint Spark (24.4%) and Lime Spearmint Zest (21.1%). At the follow-up visit, 86.5% of children would continue to use the toothpaste and 90.5% would recommend to friends. A significant relationship between the flavor chosen and the likelihood of recommending to friends were found, with Mint Chocolate Trek being recommended less than the other flavors (p=0.04). An increase in tooth brushing frequency was found with 79.8% reporting brushing two or more times per day at the pre-visit and 89.2% at the follow-up visit. A significant decrease in gingival index from 1.2+0.6 to 0.9+0.6 (p<.005) was noted but no change in plaque score. No significant correlations were found between plaque and[NP1] gingival indices with parental age, parental race, county of residence, method of payment for orthodontic treatment except parental education (p=0.04).
Conclusions: These results indicate that toothpaste flavors may enhance tooth brushing frequency and oral hygiene in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment.