KNOWLEDGE, PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES ABOUT TOOTH BRUSH STERILISATION AMONG DENTAL STUDENTS- A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Author(s):

M. Ovia, Jayashri Prabhakar, Lalitha Rani Chellappa, Kanimozhi G

  BACKGROUND :

      A toothbrush maintains good oral health by acting as an oral hygiene aid. The contamination of toothbrushes leads to oral and systemic diseases. Toothbrushes can be contaminated by the oral cavity, environment, hands, aerosol contamination, and storage containers. Bacteria can get attached, accumulate, and survive on toothbrushes may be transmitted to the individual causing disease. Awareness of toothbrush sterilization is essential for oral healthcare professionals in order to educate people. Hence, this study was conducted to analyze the Knowledge, perceptions, and practices about toothbrush sterilization among dental students.

MATERIALS AND METHODS :

        A set of 10 questionnaires were circulated among the undergraduate (UG) and Postgraduates(PG) students of  Saveetha Dental College which was done in an online forum Google Docs to avoid discussion and false results, thereby no bias is evidenced in the study. A total of 150 responses were collected and data were entered into an Excel sheet followed by statistical analysis done in SPSS by IBM. The statistical test used is Chi-square test.

RESULTS:

     From the survey, we obtained students who attended the survey showed Female predilection (61.33%). Of which, 50% were UG and 50% were PG students. There was a significant association of year of study with awareness of disinfection of the toothbrushes, brush they use regularly, how often they brush their teeth, awareness of the complication of not disinfecting toothbrushes, how often they change the toothbrush, the storage place of the toothbrush after brushing every day, awareness on contact between toothbrushes, advice for patients regarding how often they should change their toothbrushes and/or where and how their toothbrushes should be stored, awareness of the sterilization methods like running hot water on the brush and dipping brush in Baking soda with water, awareness on the toothbrush holders (p<0.05).

 CONCLUSION: The study concludes that Undergraduate students were aware of toothbrush sterilization. There was a significant association between the awareness of toothbrush sterilization and year of study (p<0.05).