Evaluation of the antimicrobial properties of different toot brush types according to storage environments

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the existing microorganism load of toothbrushes with different antibacterial properties, macro and microscopically, and to evaluate toothbrushes and their storage environments. Material and method: Each participant kept the toothbrush given for one month in the stated storage condition, including the bathroom and the room, and returned the toothbrushes after one month. With the return of the toothbrushes, the bristles were soaked in Thioglycolate broth and Brain Heart Infusion Broth for pre-enrichment. CFU/ml was determined by sowing Petri dishes with particular media for colony counting and counting microorganisms. The precise identification of the colonies based on species was carried out using VITEK® 2 Compact. Results: While Lactobacillus species were not found in any of the standard plastic toothbrushes, Lactobacillus species were observed in 4.2% of charcoal toothbrushes with silver nanoparticles and bamboo handles in 29.2% of toothbrushes with miswak characteristics. While S. mutans was observed in 54.2% of standard plastic and silver nanoparticle toothbrushes, this rate was 29.2% in bamboo-handled charcoal toothbrushes and 83.3% in miswak toothbrushes. While C. Albicans is seen at 8.3% in standard plastic toothbrushes and silver nanoparticles, it is 4.2% in toothbrushes with bamboo handles and charcoal and 25% in toothbrushes with miswak feature. When comparing the microbiology results for storage conditions in each toothbrush type, a significant relationship was found between S. mutans and storage conditions only in the silver nanoparticle toothbrush type (p=0.041). Conclusion: According to the results of our study, our initial hypothesis, which predicted the equal antimicrobial potential of toothbrush types stored under different storage conditions, was rejected. When the standard plastic, silver nanoparticle, bamboo-handled charcoal-containing toothbrush and miswak were compared to their storage environments, less bacterial contamination was found in the bamboo-handled charcoal-containing toothbrush in a room environment compared to the other brush groups. Keywords: Plastic toothbrush, Silver nanoparticle toothbrush, bamboo toothbrush, Charcoal toothbrush, Miswak toothbrush, Antibacterial toothbrush, The storage environment