Wetzel Willi-Eckhard, Schaumburg Caroline, Ansari Franziska, Kroeger Torsten, Sziegoleit Andreas
Department of Paediatric Dentistry, Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen, Dental School, Germany.
J Am Dent Assoc. 2005 Jun;136(6):758-65; quiz 806. doi: 10.14219/jada.archive.2005.0259.
The retention and growth of cariogenic microorganisms on toothbrushes pose a threat of recontamination. The authors to studied three species of oral microorganisms found at different places on toothbrush filaments.
The authors tested on patients 30 toothbrushes each of three different toothbrush types made by a single manufacturer. The toothbrushes were divided into three groups by type of construction: staple-set tufting (toothbrush A); in-mold tufting (toothbrush B); individual in-mold placement of filaments (toothbrush C). Subjects used the toothbrushes once under standardized conditions; the authors subsequently examined the brushes for the presence of Streptococcus mutans, lactobacilli and Candida species. The inspection was carried out at three time intervals after use.
S. mutans was retained to the highest degree, followed by lactobacilli and finally by C. albicans. The authors found that the number of microorganisms on toothbrush types A and B did not reveal a significant difference either on examination immediately after use or after the toothbrushes had been dried for two hours or eight hours. The technique of individual in-mold placement of filaments made retention of microorganisms more difficult. The difference between the number of germs retained on toothbrush types A and C, as well as that between the number of germs retained on types B and C, was significant or even highly significant.
The results show that toothbrushes made with the technique of individual in-mold placement of filaments appear to retain the least amount of microbial material.
Owing to the fact that toothbrushes always are a possible source of microbial reinfection, the arrangement of the filaments within the head of the toothbrush is of great importance with regard to hygiene.
致龋微生物在牙刷上的留存和生长会造成再次污染的威胁。作者研究了在牙刷刷毛不同部位发现的三种口腔微生物。
作者对来自同一制造商生产的三种不同类型牙刷各30支进行了患者测试。牙刷按构造类型分为三组：订书钉固定植毛（牙刷A）；模内植毛（牙刷B）；单丝模内单独放置（牙刷C）。受试者在标准化条件下使用一次牙刷；随后作者检查牙刷上是否存在变形链球菌、乳酸菌和念珠菌属。检查在使用后的三个时间间隔进行。
变形链球菌留存程度最高，其次是乳酸菌，最后是白色念珠菌。作者发现，在使用后立即检查或牙刷干燥两小时或八小时后，A组和B组牙刷上的微生物数量没有显著差异。单丝模内单独放置技术使微生物留存更困难。A组和C组牙刷上留存的细菌数量之间的差异，以及B组和C组牙刷上留存的细菌数量之间的差异显著甚至高度显著。
结果表明，采用单丝模内单独放置技术制作的牙刷似乎留存的微生物材料最少。
由于牙刷始终可能是微生物再感染的来源，牙刷头部内刷毛的排列在卫生方面非常重要。
