title: Condition of toothbrushes in use: correlation with behavioral and socio-economic factors.
abstract: Toothbrushes and questionnaires from 94 adult dentate individuals were analyzed. More than 97% of respondents said they brushed their teeth at least once a day, while 48% used more than one toothbrush (such as one at home and another at work). Only 47% said they preferred a soft nylon bristle, while 41% preferred medium and 10% a hard nylon bristle. More than 73% of subjects said they used their brushes for 3 months or longer. Examination of collected brushes by both objective and subjective criteria revealed a wide variation in wear; however, the majority of brushes did not appear to be 'worn-out'. No significant correlation was found between objective wear-index and the educational level of the user, annual household income of the user, or reported time in use of the brush. A significant (p less than 0.01) correlation was found between brush wear-index and the ability of the user to judge toothbrush wear.
authors.affiliation: University of Mississippi School of Dentistry, Jackson.
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.forename: L D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Beeson
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Cannon
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Plunkett
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000523:psychology