Efficacy of Antimicrobial Toothbrushes

Year 2017, Issue: Issue 1(2) - 3. INTERNATIONAL BIOCIDAL CONGRESS, 13 - 13, 01.02.2017

Ersin Nazlıcan Mehmet Gökdeniz Muhsin Akbaba

Abstract

Toothbrushes
in regular use can become heavily contaminated with microorganisms, which can
cause infection or reinfection. Over 700 bacterial species, as well as fungi,
viruses, and transient microorganisms, are present in the oral cavity that may
or may not cause various diseases.The pathogenic microorganisms may cause oral
and systemic diseases, including septicemia; gastrointestinal, cardiovascular,
respiratory, and renal problems. This condition is specifically important for
children, the elderly, and high-risk patients, including immunosuppressed
individuals or those undergoing organ transplantation or chemotherapy. This
matter has received little attention by many researchers in the past but in
recent studies antimicrobial coated toothbrushes seem to be the solution of
this issue however there are contradictory results in researches. In a study
determining the efficacy of toothbrushes that advertise self-disinfecting,
antimicrobial properties due to the inclusion of silver nanoparticles or
chlorhexidine in the bristles compared to regular ones; neither of the
antimicrobial toothbrushes delivered the advertised claim of a 99.9% reduction
in CFUs with either microorganism(Streptococcus mutans, Candida albicans). In
another study, antimicrobial( Microban) added toothbrush showed lower microbial
counts (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans,
Prevotella species) than those without. A study showed no significant reduction
in bacteria colonies by silver-coated toothbrushes for all of the
microorganisms tested. On the contrary, the colony counts for S. sanguis and C.
albicans were significantly higher on silver-coated toothbrushes compared to
the controls. In a study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of alternative
methods for toothbrush disinfection, white vinegar was considered to be
effective for tested microorganisms. Similarly, 1% NaOCl was found to be
cost-effective, easily accessible, and effective for toothbrush disinfection.
Although different methods have been investigated for toothbrush disinfection
in the literature, there still is a need for further research about toothbrush
disinfection methods, which are rapidly effective, cost-effective, nontoxic,
and that can be easily implemented

 

 

 

Keywords:
Antimicrobial
toothbrush, dental health, disinfection

Keywords

Efficacy of Antimicrobial Toothbrushes

References

• Ersin Nazlıcan, Mehmet Gökdeniz, Muhsin Akbaba Cukurova University Medicine Faculty, Public Health Department, Adana