A survey on toothbrushing practices and dosing of fluoridated toothpaste among preschool children in the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Berne, Switzerland.

This study aimed to evaluate toothbrushing practices and toothpaste dosing among preschool children aged 0-6 years in Switzerland recruited from the Department of General Pediatric and Adolescent Dentistry, University Center for Dental Medicine Basel UZB, and in daycare centers or in private practices located in the canton of Berne. Three hundred parents of children were surveyed about socioeconomic characteristics, their children's toothbrushing behavior, the use of age-appropriate toothpaste, and whether they were instructed by an oral healthcare professional about appropriate toothbrushing practices and the amount of toothpaste to use. Additionally, the parents were asked to apply toothpaste to two different toothbrushes, one with a narrow and one with a wide brush head, as they usually would at home.