Efficacy of disinfectants on microbial contaminated toothbrushes

Background: The storage condition of a toothbrush can influence the growth of bacteria. Indonesia as a developing country has a low awareness of the importance of toothbrush hygiene. Thus, an efficient and economic toothbrush storage solution is needed. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of soaking toothbrushes in mouthwash solution on the total number of Streptococcus mutans and Fusobacterium on the toothbrush. Methods: Eighteen toothbrushes were provided to healthy individuals aged 19–23-years. For 1 month, each toothbrush was soaked in disinfectant solution (25 mL) for 20 min after brushing, with Group 1 using mouthwash and Group 2 using sterile tap water. The real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was used to evaluate the number of microorganisms on each toothbrush. The total number of DNA targets was identified using real-time PCR followed by SYBR Green reagents and 16S rRNA-gene specific primers for S. mutans and Fusobacterium. A paired sample t-test was used for statistical analysis, and the level of significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: There were significant differences in the total bacterial numbers of S. mutans and Fusobacterium on toothbrushes after soaking with mouthwash solution. The average scores (Log10-CFU/mL ± standard deviation) of the total bacteria (2.66 ± 0.39), S. mutans (1.21 ± 0.18), and Fusobacterium (10.35 ± 6.02) on toothbrushes in Group 1 were significantly decreased compared to the average scores of the total bacterial load (5.19 ± 0.41), S. mutans (2.71 ± 1.59), and Fusobacterium (18.96 ± 4.26) in Group 2. Statistical evaluation brought statistically significant difference of total bacteria numbers and S. mutans between Group 1 and Group 2 (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Soaking toothbrushes in mouthrinse solution reduce the total number of bacterial load, S. mutans, and Fusobacterium. Further studies are needed to explore the effects of mouthwash solution against other oral pathogens.