Effect of triclosan dentifrice on toothbrush contamination.

PURPOSE

The objective of this study was to evaluate by culture and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) the contamination of toothbrushes of 30 children (5-7 years old) by mutans streptococci (MS) when dentifrices with or without triclosan are used.

METHODS

The clinical procedures were divided into 3 phases at 1-week intervals. In phase 1 (group I), the children brushed their teeth without dentifrice for 4 minutes; phase 2 (group II) brushed with fluoridated dentifrice (Tandy); phase 3 (group III) brushed with dentifrice containing triclosan (Colgate Total). The toothbrushes were then submitted to microbiological processing for the counting of colony-forming units (CFUs) of MS adhered to the bristles. Four toothbrushes from each group were analyzed by SEM.

RESULTS

MS were present on 93% of group I toothbrush bristles and on 77% of group II toothbrush bristles. Only 40% of group III toothbrushes were contaminated with MS. When there was a positive microbiological culture, the formation of cariogenic bacterial biofilm adhered to the bristles of all groups was identified by SEM.

CONCLUSIONS

Toothbrush bristles were contaminated by MS after only one use. A dentifrice containing triclosan significantly reduced bacterial contamination of these toothbrushes.