OBJECTIVE: To investigate what influences the choice of dentifrice used by patients attending a dental clinic. METHOD: Self-administered questionnaire on patients attending oral diagnosis clinic. Data analyzed for descriptIve statistics using EPI- info 2004 software. RESULTS: Two hundred and three patients comprising of 105 (51.7%) females and 98 (48.3%) males, were involved in this study. Toothpaste with toothbrush was the most common form of oral hygiene practice (90.6%). Cost of the dentifrice (32.5%), the taste of the dentifrice (51.7%), the presence of fluoride (53.7%), availability of the dentifrice (54.7%) and the recommendation of a dental health professional (32.5%) were some of the factors governing choice. CONCLUSION: The choice of dentifrices by patients is governed by factors other than the efficacy of the dentifrice and dental education is important to reverse this trend.
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I C Adegbulugbe (2007) studied this question.