Article

The Effect of Toothbrush Covers on Bacterial Retention

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Abstract

Purpose. Studies have established that toothbrushes harbor pathogenic microorganisms. This study‘s purpose was to investigate how covers on three powered toothbrushes affected bacterial retention. Materials and Methods. The retention of Streptococcus mutans was evaluated on the Oral-B Cross Action Power, the Sonicare Advance 4100, and the Crest SpinBrush Pro. The brushes were first sterilized with ethylene oxide. Brush heads from each brand were then submerged in a Streptococcus mutans solution for two minutes. Ten toothbrushes from each brand were covered, while 10 from each brand were allowed to air dry and were stored at room temperature. After 12 hours, five of each covered and aerated were vortexed in 10 ml sterile saline. Dilution was made (1/10), and 40 ml was placed on Mitis salivarius agar and counted after 72 hours at 37M-BM-0C. The identical procedure was carried out with the replicate 30 toothbrushes. A negative control was included. Results. Findings from the Mann-Whitney test showed that the covered brushes at 12 hours had a statistically higher number of colony forming units (CFU) than at 24 hours (p<0.0001), but uncovered toothbrushes had no significant differences at 12 and 24 hours (p=0.3620). At 12 hours, the covered brushes had significantly higher CFU than the uncovered brushes (p<0.0001), and at 24 hours no significant difference existed between the two brush types (p=0.2120). Conclusions. Toothbrush head covers affected retention of Streptococcus mutans. The longer the toothbrushes dried, bacteria levels decreased regardless of whether the brushes were covered or uncovered. Clinical Significance. All patients should be encouraged to leave toothbrushes uncovered after use to minimize bacteria survival. If patients do cover their toothbrushes, they should wait 12 hours before reuse to allow time for decreasing the bacterial load.

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... This explains the requirement of humidity for the growth of S. mutans. [45,46] Group I showed a statistically significant difference between bacterial counts, lowest count being in subgroup Ib. Group II also showed a statistically significant difference between the bacterial counts, with the score being the lowest in subgroup IIb. ...
... Our finding agreed with the studies in which bacterial count was found to be decreased by the time when toothbrushes were kept in ventilated area. [45,46] Overall, Chlorhexidine group shows lower bacterial counts than the Hiora group, the difference being statistically significant. This was in congruity with the findings by Nelson Filho et al. ...
... This explains the requirement of humidity for the growth of S. mutans. [45,46] Group I showed a statistically significant difference between bacterial counts, lowest count being in subgroup Ib. Group II also showed a statistically significant difference between the bacterial counts, with the score being the lowest in subgroup IIb. ...
... Our finding agreed with the studies in which bacterial count was found to be decreased by the time when toothbrushes were kept in ventilated area. [45,46] Overall, Chlorhexidine group shows lower bacterial counts than the Hiora group, the difference being statistically significant. This was in congruity with the findings by Nelson Filho et al. ...
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Background Toothbrush serves to be an important mechanical tool in maintaining oral hygiene. In today's era of modern medicine, with a finite knowledge and awareness about toothbrush disinfection, this tool could be reason for cross-contamination. Thus, the study aimed at comparison of the efficacy of two different mouth rinses (chlorhexidine and hiora) in inhibiting the growth of Streptococcus mutans on the bristle of toothbrush used by children. Materials and Methods A total of 52 children were elected for this study based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were divided into subgroups based on the time duration for after which the microbial count was assessed in both the groups. Each of the toothbrushes was placed in the phosphate-buffered saline solution, vortexed and then diluted serially. Mitis salivarius bacitracin agar plates were inoculated following which the incubation was done for 48 h. S. mutans were identified by morphology of the colonies formed, Gram staining and biochemical tests. Results The difference between the two groups was statistically significant in both scenarios when toothbrushes were processed immediately and when processed after 24 h. Bacterial counts were the least with chlorhexidine group and in those tested after the storage period suggesting the need for drying time for toothbrush to get disinfected before the next use. Conclusion For disinfection of the toothbrush and avoid further risk of cross contamination, use of mouth rinses and adequate drying time will serve the purpose in an economic and strategic way.
... As escovas dentais utilizadas pelos adolescentes apresentaram-se contaminadas, independentemente de sua forma de armazenamento. 1 As escovas dentais que após o uso foram armazenadas em ambientes arejados, apresentaram o quantitativo de bactérias em menor número, quando comparadas às escovas dentais armazenadas em recipientes totalmente fechados e recipientes fechados com abertura para ventilação. 24 As capas protetoras influenciaram na retenção de S. mutans inicialmente, mas à medida que as escovas dentais secam, o nível de bactérias decrescem, corroborando 25 , a recomendação da ANO que preconiza que as escovas sejam guardadas numa posição vertical, em local arejado e quando armazenadas mais de uma escova no mesmo local, se faz necessário mantê-las separadas, de modo que os micro-organismos não sejam transferidos de uma escova e outra. 26 As escovas devem ser guardadas e transportadas de maneira correta, onde as cerdas devem estar protegidas, pois as mesmas entram em contato com a cavidade bucal. ...
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O objetivo desta revisão de literatura é evidenciar a importância de minimizar os micro-organismos encontrados nas escovas dentais após seu uso e mostrar estratégias de profilaxia de fácil acesso a população. Para isso, foram utilizados artigos científicos referentes ao tema, de forma a introduzir e discutir sobre o assunto pertinente. Sendo assim, foi possível identificar que depois de utilizada, a escova é contaminada pela própria flora de micro-organismos presentes na cavidade bucal e, com isso, gera a necessidade de sua desinfecção e por conseguinte armazenamento adequado, que feito de forma inadequada pode também gerar contaminação das cerdas das escovas dentais. Dentro da saúde pública, essas informações afetam diretamente a população de maneira positiva, afinal com agentes químicos de fácil acesso é possível fazer uma desinfecção eficiente, e a maneira do armazenamento também colaborará nessa redução de contaminação, concluísse que as famílias que receberem essas informações poderão evitar doenças por contaminações cruzadas.
... Our finding agreed with Sogi et al. (2002) who found that bacterial count decreased by time when toothbrushes were kept in ventilated area. Also, Borso et al. (2004) concluded that toothbrushes when covered increased humidity and so increase bacterial retention on toothbrushes rather than ventilated uncapped brushes. ...
Article
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Objective: To compare the efficacy of two types of mouth rinse sprays (Periogard and Plax) in inhibiting the growth of Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) on toothbrush bristles used by children. Methods: An experimental comparative study was performed. The sample included 60 children aged 6-8 years with high caries index. Children were divided randomly into 3 groups (20 each) according to materials applied on toothbrush. Each group was further subdivided into 2 subgroups A and B (10 each) according to the laboratory standards for processing microbiological specimens. Each toothbrush was placed in phosphate buffered saline, vortexed then serially diluted. Mitis salivarius bacitracin (MSB) agar plates were inoculated and incubated for 48 h. S. mutans colonies were identified by morphology, gram stain and biochemical tests. Results: Statistically, significant difference was observed between the three groups either when toothbrushes were processed immediately or when processed after 24 h. Group I showed highest bacterial count followed by group III whereas group II showed least bacterial count. Bacterial counts were significantly decreased by time in group I and group III while in group II no significant decrease as both subgroups showed very low bacterial count. Conclusions: Although both mouth rinses were effective against S. mutans toothbrush contamination, chlorhexidine gluconate proved to be better.
Article
This project was conducted to determine the effectiveness of chlorhexidine-coated toothbrush filaments in reducing quantities of bacteria. An Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved, two-group, double-blind, randomized, post-test only study was conducted. Sixty-four individuals utilized control and experimental toothbrushes, for 30 days. At the end of the study toothbrushes were returned and transported to the laboratory for analysis. Microorganisms were detached from the filaments by sonification and vortexing then plated on Mitis Salivarius (MS) (selective) and trypticase soy agar (TSA) 5% Sheep Blood (non-selective) media. Inoculated plates were incubated aerobically for 24 h at 37 degrees C. After incubation, bacterial colony-forming units (CFU) were determined. Data were analysed using Wilcoxon and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Fifty-nine toothbrushes were returned for analysis; experimental (n = 31) and control (n = 28). Data from TSA media revealed a mean CFU for the control group of 5.41 x 10(5) compared with 6.28 x 10(5) for the experimental group. Data from MS agar resulted in a mean CFU for the control group of 4.32 x 10(5) compared with 4.20 x 10(5) for the experimental group. Results revealed no statistically significant difference in the quantity of bacteria surviving on toothbrush filaments between control and experimental groups, on both selective and non-selective media, after 30 days.
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