Estimation of Bacterial Contamination on Toothbrush used by Different Students for a Different Time Period

Introduction: Contamination of a surface occurs by microorganisms when it inhabits any surface or an object when the count of the bacteria increases. The degree of contamination can be estimated by counting the number of colonies, when a sample collected from that site is cultured. Streptococcus mutans is considered to be the normal commensal of our oral cavity. When it’s count is increased in the oral cavity, it causes dental caries and other tooth related problems. The main aim of this study is to estimate the bacterial contamination in the tooth brush head used by students for varying time periods.

Materials and Methods: Used toothbrushes for varying time periods are collected from students. Then their bristles are plucked with the sterilized forceps for the prevention of bacterial contamination and agitated in the saline and inoculated in the brain heart infusion broth agar with the help of sterilized bacterial loops and incubated for 24 hours at 37oC. Then the colonies are counted and record as CFU/ml.

Results: The bacterial count is directly proportional to period of usage, but it is affected by certain factors like duration of brushing and using brushes. On an average the count was estimated to be 47 CFU/ml for two months, 57 CFU/ml for six months, 68 CFU/ml for eight months and 81 CFU/ml for a year. The p1 value (for sample 1 and 2) was 0.046 (p<0.05), so it is statistically significant.

Conclusion: The study shows that in prolonged usage of tooth brushes the bacterial contamination also increases. So the tooth brushes should be protected in tooth brush holders, to avoid contamination and the toothbrushes should be changed once in a month for betterment of oral health.