Philips Sonicare Oral Health Month Survey

Toronto, ON - According to a new Ipsos-Reid survey conducted on behalf of Philips Sonicare for Oral Health Month, two-thirds (65%) of Canadians say they plan to take specific steps in the next year to improve their overall health.

When asked which of a list of four areas--physical fitness and weight; oral health; nutrition and eating habits; or mental health--is most important to them at this time, just 3% of Canadians say "oral health." This compares to half (47%) who say their "physical fitness and weight" is most important, three in ten (28%) who say their "nutrition and eating habits," and two in ten (19%) who say their "mental health" is most important at this time. However, when informed that there is increasing evidence to suggest a relationship between oral health problems and overall health problems such as heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetic complications, and premature/underweight babies, six in ten (59%) Canadians say they are more inclined to improve their oral health habits.

Asked which of four actions--seeing a dentist or hygienist regularly; proper tooth brushing daily; flossing regularly; or using an antibacterial mouthwash--is most important to maintaining good oral health, "proper tooth brushing daily" tops the list with 57% of responses. This compares to three in ten (28%) who say "seeing a dentist or hygienist regularly," one in ten (10%) who say "flossing regularly," and just 3% who say "using an anti-bacterial mouthwash" is most important.

Finally, two in ten (21%) Canadians admit to being less than honest with their dentist and/or hygienist about their oral healthcare habits such as flossing and brushing.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/Philips Sonicare poll conducted from February 25th to 27th, 2005. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1000 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 1773.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.

Two-thirds (65%) of Canadians say they plan to take specific steps in the next year to improve their overall health. Conversely (34%) do not.

• Canadians 18-54 years of age are more likely than their elders to say they are planning to take specific steps in the next year to improve their overall health (69% vs. 57%).

When asked which of a list of four areas--physical fitness and weight; oral health; nutrition and eating habits; or mental health--is most important to them at this time, just 3% of Canadians say "oral health." This compares to half (47%) who say their "physical fitness and weight" is most important, three in ten (28%) who say their "nutrition and eating habits," and two in ten (19%) who say their "mental health" is most important at this time. Of the remaining 3% of respondents, 2% responded "none of the above" and 1% is unsure.

• Men are more likely than women to say their physical fitness and weight" is most important" (53% vs. 42%), while women are more likely than men to say their "nutrition and eating habits" is most important (33% vs. 23%).

When informed that there is increasing evidence to suggest a relationship between oral health problems and overall health problems such as heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetic complications, and premature/underweight babies, six in ten (59%) Canadians say they are more inclined to improve their oral health habits. Four in ten (40%) say they are not more inclined and 1% is unsure.

• Atlantic Canadians (70%) are most likely to say they are more inclined to improve their oral health habits, followed by residents of Quebec (60%), Alberta (60%), Ontario (58%), British Columbia (55%), and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (49%).

• Canadians 18-34 years of age are more likely than their elders to say they are more inclined to improve their oral health habits (64% vs. 56%).

• Women are more likely than men to say they are more inclined to improve their oral health habits (63% vs. 54%).

• The propensity to say they are more inclined to improve their oral health habits decreases with level of education: 72% of Canadians with less than a high school education say they are vs. 63% of those with a high school diploma vs. 58% of those with a college degree or some university vs. 52% of university graduates.

Asked which of four actions--seeing a dentist or hygienist regularly; proper tooth brushing daily; flossing regularly; or using an antibacterial mouthwash--is most important to maintaining good oral health, "proper tooth brushing daily" tops the list with 57% of responses. This compares to three in ten (28%) who say "seeing a dentist or hygienist regularly," one in ten (10%) who say "flossing regularly," and just 3% who say "using an anti-bacterial mouthwash" is most important. Of the remaining 3% of respondents, 2% responded "none of the above" and 1% is unsure.

• Quebecers (66%) are more likely than others to say "proper tooth brushing daily" is most important to maintaining good oral health: 49% of residents of both British Columbia and Atlantic Canada say this is most important, 52% of residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba say so, 55% of residents of Ontario say so, and 60% of residents of Alberta say "proper tooth brushing daily" is most important to maintaining good oral health.

• Quebecers (19%) are the least likely to say "seeing a dentist or hygienist regularly" is most important to maintaining good oral health: 33% of residents of both Saskatchewan/Manitoba and Atlantic Canada say this is most important, 31% of residents of Ontario say so, 30% of residents of British Columbia say so, and 26% of residents of Alberta say "seeing a dentist or hygienist regularly" is most important to maintaining good oral health.

• Women are more likely than men to say "seeing a dentist or hygienist regularly" is most important to maintaining good oral health" (31% vs. 25%).

Finally, two in ten (21%) Canadians admit to being less than honest with their dentist and/or hygienist about their oral healthcare habits such as flossing and brushing. This compares to 78% who say they have never lied about their oral healthcare habits and 1% who are unsure.

• The propensity to admit to being less than honest with their dentist and/or hygienist about their oral healthcare habits such as flossing and brushing decreases with age: 32% of young adults 18-34 years of age say they have lied vs. 18% of middle-aged Canadians 35-54 years of age vs. 13% of those 55 years of age or older.

Please open the attached PDF to view the factum and detailed tables.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

Jennifer McLeod
Senior Research Manager
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900