Microbial contamination of tooth brushes and tooth brush keeping places among apparently healthy individuals in Egor LGA, Benin City
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background: Toothbrushes may become contaminated with microorganisms as they are often kept in unsanitary conditions such as the bathroom and toilets which facilitate bacteria growth.
Methods: This study was conducted to evaluate the microbial contamination of toothbrushes and tooth brush keeping places among apparently healthy individuals in Egor LGA, Benin City. A total of sixty (60) apparently healthy individuals that consented to participate were recruited for this study. Toothbrush was given to each participant for normal use and keep and collected after a period of 4months. Pour plate technique using nutrient agar was used for primary isolation. Culture on Mac Conkey and chocolate agar plates was used for differentiation of organisms. Macroscopic, microscopic and biochemical examination were further carried out for identification of each organism isolated.
Results: A predorminance of 58.33% microorganism was obtained from the toothbrush of apparently healthy individuals in Egor LGA. Of the microorganism isolated, E. coli (36.6%) and Lactobacilus spp (36.6%) were the most predominant organism followed by Bacillus cereus (14.6%), Coagulase negative Staphyloccous (7.3) while Pseudomonas aeroginosa and Klebsiella spp were both (2.4%). No significant relationship existed between gender, age and toothbrush contamination. Tooth brush keeping place, length of usage and toothbrush casing had no significant statistical correlation with the toothbrush contamination.
Conclusion: From our study, bacteria contamination of toothbrushes and toothbrush keeping places is very high. Toothbrushes and toothbrush keeping places should be properly maintained.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
"Oral Longevity," American Dental Association bronchure (2008), page 2 Archived 2010-11-19 at the Wayback Machine. Available at https://www.parisdentistry.com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/11/orallongevity_bronchure.pdf Accessed: May, 2021
Sukhabogii JR, Chandrashekar BR, Haritha N, Gujjarlapudi SK. Microbial Contamination of Tooth Brushes Stored in Different Settings before and After Disinfection with Chlorhexidine–A Comparative Study. Journal of Young Pharmacists (2015); 7(4): 486-492.
Karibasappa GN, Nagesh L, Sujatha BK. Assessment of microbial contamination of toothbrush head: An in vitro study. Indian Journal of Dental Research (2011); 22: 2–5.
Saleh DM. Effectiveness of different cleanser solutions on the microbial contamination of toothbrushes. Journal of Kerbala University (2011); 9(3): 302-307.
Wetzel WE, Schaumburg C, Ansari F, Kroeger T, Sziegoleit A. Microbial contamination of toothbrushes with different principles of filament anchoring. American Journal of Dental Association (2005); 136(6): 758-764.
Sammons R, Kaur D, Neal P. Bacterial survival and biofilm formation on conventional and antibacterial toothbrushes. Biofilms (2004); 1:123-130.
Efstratiou M, Papaioannou W, Nakou M, Ktenas E. Contamination of toothbrush with antibacterial properties by oral microorganisms. Journal of Dentistry (2006); 35(4): 331-337.
Sato S, Pedrazzi V, Guimarães EH, Panzeri H, De Albuquerque RF, Ito IY. “Antimicrobial spray for toothbrush disinfection: an in vivo evaluation,” Quintessence International (2005); 36 (10): 812–816.
Centers for Disease Control. (2002) In CDC’s National Center for Infectious Diseases, http://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/infectioncontrol/factsheets/toothbrushes.htm. 2002
Naik R, Mujib BRA, Telagi N, Anil BS, Spoorthi BR. Contaminated tooth brushes - Potential threat to oral and general health. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care (2015); 4(3): 444-448.
Mehta A, Sequeira PS, Bhat G. Bacterial contamination and decontamination of toothbrushes after use. NY. State Dental Journal (2007); 73(3): 20-22
Downes J, Samuel H, Melanie W, William W. Prevotella histicola sp. nov, isolated from the human oral cavity. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology (2008); 58: 1788-1791.
Beneduce C, Baxter KA, Bowman J, Haines M, Andreana S. Germicidal activity of antimicrobials and VIO light W Personal Travel Toothbrush Sanitizer: An in vitro study. Journal of Dentistry; (2010); 38: 621–625
Asumang P, Inkabi SE, Inkabi S. Toothbrush bristles, a harbor of microbes and the risk of infection. International Journal of Oral Health Sciences (2019); 19(1): 25-27
Saravia ME, Nelson-Filho P, da Silva RA, Faria G, Rossi MA, Ito IY. Viability of Streptococcus mutant’s toothbrush bristles. Journal of Dentistry for Children (2008); 75(1):29-32
Warren DP, Goldschmidt MC, Thompson MB, AdlerStorthz K, Keene HJ. The effects of toothpastes on the residual microbial contamination of toothbrushes. Journal of American Dental Association (2001); 132:1241–1245.
Caudry SD, Klitorinos A, Chan EC. Contaminated toothbrushes and their disinfection. Canadian Dental Association (2005); 61(6):511-516
Saxer UP, Yankell SL. Impact of improved toothbrushes on dental diseases. II. Quintessence International (2011); 28:573-593