Use of Toothpaste Among Malaysian Adults

Objectives: One of the objectives of the National Oral Health Survey of Adults in Malaysia in year 2010 (NOHSA 2010) was to determine the prevalence of fluoridated toothpaste use among dentate adults. Methods: A two-stage stratified random sampling targeted 14,444 adults aged 15 years and above in households.  Face-to-face interviews were conducted by trained interviewers. Data was analysed using SPSS v.17 with sampling weights for households at state and strata (urban/rural) based on 2010 census. Results:  Majority of dentate adults [98.9% (95% CI: 98.6 – 99.1)] use toothpaste. Among these, 93.7% (95% CI: 92.8 - 94.4) used fluoridated toothpaste, 5.1% (95% CI: 4.4 - 5.9) use non-fluoridated toothpaste and 0.1% (95% CI: 0.1 - 0.3) did not know whether their toothpaste contain fluoride. Among adults using fluoridated toothpaste, 53.8% (95% CI: 51.9 - 55.7) perceived they were using fluoridated toothpaste, 3.5% (95% CI: 3.0 – 4.1)  perceived they were using non-fluoridated toothpaste and 42.7% (95% CI: 40.8 – 44.6) did not know whether the toothpaste they used contained fluoride. Among those using non-fluoridated toothpaste, 20.5% (95% CI: 16.4 - 25.2) perceived that their toothpaste was fluoridated and 33.5% (95% CI: 28.5 - 39.0) knew that their toothpaste was non-fluoridated while, 46.0% (95% CI: 40.7 - 51.5) did not know whether their toothpaste contain fluoride. Conclusion: Majority of dentate adults in Malaysia used fluoridated toothpaste. There is still a need to promote awareness on use of fluoridated toothpaste.