Diş Hekimliği Öğrencilerinin Diş Fırçası Dezenfeksiyonu ve Saklama Koşulları Hakkında Bilgi Düzeyinin Değerlendirilmesi

Aim:Providing effective oral care includes disinfection oral hygiene equipment as well as providing oral hygiene.Toothbrushes are the most widely used tool to control dental plaque.Storage conditions and disinfection of toothbrushes are very important for contamination.Contaminated toothbrushes can cause septicemia as well as play a role in many systemic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, gastrointestinal and respiratory problems.This is important for high-risk patient groups such as children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals.The aim of this study is to evaluate the knowledge level and behavior of dentistry students about the storage and usage conditions of the equipment used to provide oral hygiene. Materials and methods:This study included 200 dentistry students who studying at Nuh Naci Yazgan University Faculty of Dentistry in 1st,2nd,3rd grade.A questionnaire including questions about demographic information, toothbrushing habits, toothbrush storage conditions and disinfection was applied to the participants.Number and percentage were used for the descriptive values of the obtained data.The data were analyzed with the chi-square test using the SPSS program.P-values of <0.05 were considered significant. Results:44.5% of the students who participated in the survey reported that they did not know about toothbrush disinfection, and 49% did not disinfect their toothbrushes.While 88.5% of the participants thought that microbial contact between different toothbrushes was effective in brush contamination, only 53% stated that using toothpaste together had an effect on contamination.There was no significant relationship between the knowledge of toothbrush disinfection and the grades of the students.However, the rate(40.3%) stating that sharing toothpaste has an effect on contamination was found to be higher in grade 3 students compared to other terms.It was found that toothbrush disinfection methods made a significant difference according to the grades(p<0.05).Sterile tap water was highly preferred as a disinfection method in all three grades. Conclusion:Most of the students who participated in the questionnaire did not have enough knowledge about toothbrush disinfection and storage conditions.Dentistry students, who will raise awareness of the society about oral health as a physician in the future, should have more awareness and knowledge about toothbrush disinfection and storage conditions.More attention should be paid to this issue during the preclinical education process in dentistry faculties. Keywords: Oral health, disinfection, toothbrushes, storage conditions