Avaliação da contaminação das escovas dentais de estudantes de odontologia da Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora

Abstract

This study evaluated the level of contamination of toothbrushes from 54 students of 2nd, 5nd and 9nd period of the undergraduate course in Dentistry, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil, with respect to hygiene and storage, and the effectiveness of the aqueous solution of chlorhexidine gluconate 0.12% spray for decontamination of toothbrushes. The study was divided into two phases, with duration of 15 days each. In Step 1, participants were divided into two groups (G1 and G2), where each received a toothbrush and a dental cream. In step 2, the G1 has been called experimental and G2, control: in experimental received toothbrushes and dental cream, a spray bottle with basic aqueous solution, composed of distilled water and sweetener stevia added with chlorhexidine gluconate 0.12%. In the control, each participant received the same set and spray bottle containing basic solution. Received protocol guidelines for use, storage and disinfection of toothbrushes. Before starting the study and after two steps, the students answered questionnaires with data on their hygiene and storage of the toothbrushes. The toothbrushes were returned in sealed envelopes to the researcher for the microbiological test, performed at the Laboratory of Microbiology, Institute of Biological Sciences of UFJF. The toothbrushes were placed in sterile test tubes identified, containing 7mL of sterile saline 0.9% and agitated in the Vortex®, for 20s. With a calibrated loop was collected 1μL this solution and spreaded by exhaustion in the culture medium CHROMagar Orientation®. The plates were incubated at 35,5°C under aerobic conditions, for 24h. Data were subjected to statistics. The results of this study showed that an increased rate of contamination of toothbrushes of 2nd period students compared to the students of the 5th and the 9th periods. There was a marked reduction in contamination levels in step 2 and was statistically significant for 2nd and 9th periods. In the 5th period was a reduction, but without statistical significance, which can be explained by the reported occurrence of contact for their toothbrushes with other brushes in the storage location. Between groups, the reduction in contamination was statistically significant between G1 and experimental. However, a decrease was observed between G2 and the control, showing that hygiene and proper storage are sufficient to reduce the contamination of toothbrushes.