Though previous studies have reported that advertisement through mass media, dentist advice and dental literature/information are the main sources of influence in the choice of toothpaste by respondents, [9][10][11] this STUDY showed that advertisement, dentist advice and packaging have little effect on respondents' choice when choosing either their toothpaste or toothbrush. Despite the huge investment on advertisement by manufacturers, it had the least effect on the respondents in their choice of either toothpaste or toothbrush, which could have been due to the fact that the respondents have made up their minds as to their choice of toothpaste/brush based on their previous experience. ...

... This is contrary to previous studies that reported a higher percentage of influence by the family or PARENTAL factor. 10,11,13 Against the anecdotal belief that it might be the dentists that are more concerned with fluoride content in toothpastes and not their PATIENTS, over 60% of the respondents will be influenced by fluoride content of toothpaste when making a choice. This could have been as a result of widely HELD view about the benefit of fluoride in preventing dental caries. ...