Assessment of awareness of tooth brush disinfection amongst dental surgeons

Aim: General public should be made more aware on the relevance of oral
hygiene aid disinfection, since dental practitioners are the guiding post for educating the public. The study was conducted to evaluate awareness and knowledge of oral hygiene aids disinfection of the dental practitioners.
Materials and methods: From the total 350 participants, there were 139 general dentists, 110 postgraduates and 101 masters.. The questionnaire consisted of questions assessing the participants' fundamental understanding of the use of oral hygiene products, their storage, and disinfection techniques and also on the
significance of oral hygiene disinfection and if it should be recommended to the general public. Data were compiled and subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS- 21 version. Results: 79% of participants were aware of the oral hygiene aids disinfection among which 31% disinfect their toothbrushes with plain water, 45% using several methods of disinfection, and just 3% using solely chemicals to disinfect their toothbrushes. However, there were no statistically significant differences between the three groups in terms of knowledge. Conclusion: The present study indicated a gap in knowledge among the dental communities, so the first and foremost step to be taken up is to increase awareness on oral hygiene aids disinfection and disinfectants.