Analisis Kotaminasi Mikroba pada Sikat Gigi Bertutup dan Tidak Bertutup

Sari

The aims of this study were to compare the colony count and to identify the microorganisms contaminating covered and uncovered toothbrushes. Twenty toothbrushes were distributed among university students divided into two groups according to covered and uncovered toothbrushes then collected after 5 weeks of use. Microbial enumeration (CFU/mL) was done with pour plate methods and identification of microorganisms isolated from the samples was done by macroscopic, microscopic and biochemical reaction test. Dependent T-test showed that there was statistically significant difference (P<0.05) on the colony count of both toothbrushes between before and after 5 weeks of use. Independent T-test showed that the mean difference of colony count between covered and uncovered toothbrushes was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Isolation and identification of the bacterial isolates revealed that covered and uncovered toothbrushes were both contaminated by Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus coagulase negative (CoNS), Klebsiella sp., E. coli, Enterobacter sp., Serratia marcescens and Pseudomonas sp. Fungi contamination also found on both toothbrushes identified as Candida sp., Trichosporon sp., Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., Fusarium sp. and black mold. It can be concluded that there was no statistically significant difference on the colony count between covered and uncovered toothbrushes and contamination by bacteria and fungi were found on both toothbrushes.