Contamination of interdental brushes by periodontopathogens

Abstract

Experimental studies have shown that intraoral transmission of bacteria can occur. Of course, the question arises as to how this transmission may happen. In this study, the contamination of interdental brushes by periodontopathogens is examined and compared to the microbial load of the periodontal pockets. In ten untreated chronic periodontitis patients, four interdental sites were professionally brushed with one interdental brush per patient. Subsequently, samples from the depths of the pockets (of the specific interdental sites) were obtained with paper-points. The interdental brush samples and the samples of the subgingival plaque, obtained by the pooled paper-points, were processed for dark-field microscopy examination as well as anaerobic culturing. The results showed that, although significant differences could be found between the brushes and paper-points with direct microscopy, the culturing did not uncover many differences. On the contrary, the detection frequencies of specific bacterial species were almost the same between the two. The total anaerobic colony-forming units (CFU), P. gingivalis, F. nucleatum, and E. corrodens found on the brushes showed a significant correlation with the subgingival plaque samples (P<0.005). These results suggest that, in untreated situations, interdental brushes are contaminated relatively easily by putative periodontopathogens in numbers comparable to their presence in periodontal pockets. This contamination could be a factor in the intraoral spread of bacteria.

Physicochemical factors influencing bacterial transfer from contact lenses to surfaces with different roughness and wettability

“…from meat to polyvinylchloride, polyurethane, and stainless steel 22 . In vivo ,23 intraoral bacterial transfer to paper points left in interdental spaces for 10 s was compared to the amount of bacteria and number of species found on interdental brushes that were used afterwards in the same spaces.…”

Contamination of a toothbrush with antibacterial properties by oral microorganisms

“…4 Comparable observations have been made for periodontopathogens. [5][6][7][8] The importance of this intraoral transmission of microorganisms has even been shown by a new approach to periodontal therapy, the one-stage full-mouth disinfection treatment in 24 h. This new approach, by mechanical and pharmacological means, which reduced the chance for an intraoral transmission during therapy, resulted in additional microbiological and clinical improvements. 9 There have been several studies that have examined different ways of reducing contamination of oral hygiene aids.…”

The effect of a microbead dentifrice on microbial load in oral microenvironments

“…In contrast to molecular techniques which enumerate both viable and non‐viable bacteria (9, 10), anaerobic culture methods utilized in the present study focus solely on viable bacteria. This is particularly pertinent in surveys of different oral micoecologies since only viable bacteria can be transmitted between sites in the oral cavity (27) or between people (28, 29).…”