Source 7

Source Document Analysis Worksheet

Karibasappa GN, Nagesh L, Sujatha BK 25 April 2011
Author’s name (last, first) Publication date
Assessment of microbial contamination of toothbrush head: An in vitro study
Title
Indian Journal of Dental Research Karnataka, India, Indian Journal of Dental Research
Book series OR Journal Location and publisher OR volume, issue, pages

 This study and research paper set out: 1)  To assess the microbial contamination of the hard deposit on the toothbrush head, between the bristle tufts, after 1 and 3 months of use. 2) To assess the microbial contamination of the hard deposit on the toothbrush head, between the bristle tufts, which were kept in the bathrooms with and without attached toilet. They realize that the most common oral hygiene aid used to improve the oral health of an individual is toothbrush and it is often neglected to maintain in a proper aseptic condition, which could probably result in contamination by various micro-organisms.
They conducted the study by keeping twenty toothbrushes in the bathrooms with an attached toilet and 20 toothbrushes kept in the bathrooms without an attached toilet were collected from the participants, making it a total of 40. Among these 20 toothbrushes in each group, 10 were used for 1 month duration and 10 were used for 3 months duration.
Their leading results were that Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas, Lactobacillus, Klebsiella, Candida species were isolated in 1 month and 3 months used toothbrushes kept in the bathrooms without attached toilet. Escherichia coli was found in 3 months used toothbrushes kept in the bathrooms with attached toilet. Micro-organisms were found in isolated form in toothbrushes used for 1 month, whereas in toothbrushes used for 3 months they are found in clumps. These microorganisms cause different diseases, e.g., Str. mutans causes initiation of dental caries in human beings; Lactobacilli cause the progression of the dental caries; Candida causes candidiasis; Pseudomonas causes suppurative otitis, eye infections, urinary tract infections, burn infections, etc.; Klebsiella causes pyogenic infections, septicemia, pneumonia, diarrhea, urinary tract infections; Str. pyogenes causes urinary tract infections, rheumatic fever, glomerulonephritis; and Sta. aureus causes boils, carbuncle, pustules, abscess, osteomyelitis, endocarditis and septicemia. In the present study, the micro-organisms isolated were not only oral pathogens but also general pathogens.
This study is interesting and can be relevant to my research because it provides me with another aspect of oral hygiene, proper maintenance of dental supplies.  From this study it appears that improper maintenance of a toothbrush could allow various microorganisms to enter the body and potentially cause disease. I am sure that the conditions could get worse, depending on the condition of the bathroom. Improper care of dental supplies in India could be a contributing factor to prevalence of oral diseases. I think it would be interesting to determine the care that is taken of hygiene products in India. This could give a clue to not only oral problems, but general health problems as well. This study is very applicable because I could very simply put together a study to research the condition of oral hygiene products in India. This research gave me another avenue to travel down if I so choose.