Effectiveness of single use over multiple use toothbrushes on negative oral microflora of plaque

CONTEXT: Role of toothbrush in decreasing oral microflora. AIMS: To evaluate the effectiveness and compare the negative oral microbial flora of dental plaque after the use of a self-contaminated multiple use toothbrush and that of a single-use toothbrush. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Sixty healthy individuals without any systemic conditions. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The study conducted with 60 participants who were free from any systemic or oral disease and without any adverse habits. In these participants, plaque samples were collected after 1 month use of a self-contaminated multiple use toothbrush. Each participant was given a set of 30 new toothbrushes and a toothpaste tube and instructed to use one toothbrush everyday and discard it after use. The plaque samples were collected on seven days interval and cultured on Mitis Salivarius agar. The colonies were identified and their count was recorded. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Student t test was applied. RESULTS: Streptococcus mutans, S. sanguis, S. milleri, and Candida were identified from the samples. A highly marked decrease in their numbers was found after the use of a single-use toothbrush over multiple use toothbrushes. CONCLUSIONS: As a self-contaminated multiple use toothbrushes can aid microorganisms to grow rapidly into the oral cavity, it may be preferable to change the toothbrush as frequently as possible.