The Toothbrush Microbiome: Impact of User Age, Period of Use and Bristle Material on the Microbial Communities of Toothbrushes
Toothbrushes play a central role in oral hygiene and must be considered one of the most common articles of daily use. We analysed the bacterial colonization of used toothbrushes by next generation sequencing (NGS) and by cultivation on different media. Furthermore, we determined the occurrence of an...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/8/9/1379 |
| _version_ | 1797554228246347776 |
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| author | Marc-Kevin Zinn Laura Schages Dirk Bockmühl |
| author_facet | Marc-Kevin Zinn Laura Schages Dirk Bockmühl |
| author_sort | Marc-Kevin Zinn |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Toothbrushes play a central role in oral hygiene and must be considered one of the most common articles of daily use. We analysed the bacterial colonization of used toothbrushes by next generation sequencing (NGS) and by cultivation on different media. Furthermore, we determined the occurrence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and the impact of different bristle materials on microbial growth and survival. NGS data revealed that <i>Enterobacteriaceae</i>, <i>Micrococcaceae</i>, <i>Actinomycetaceae</i>, and <i>Streptococcaceae</i> comprise major parts of the toothbrush microbiome. The composition of the microbiome differed depending on the period of use or user age. While higher fractions of <i>Actinomycetales</i>, <i>Lactobacillales</i>, and <i>Enterobacterales</i> were found after shorter periods, <i>Micrococcales</i> dominated on both toothbrushes used for more than four weeks and on toothbrushes of older users, while in-vitro tests revealed increasing counts of <i>Micrococcus</i> on all bristle materials as well. Compared to other environments, we found a rather low frequency of ARGs. We determined bacterial counts between 1.42 × 10<sup>6</sup> and 1.19 × 10<sup>7</sup> cfu/toothbrush on used toothbrushes and no significant effect of different bristles materials on bacterial survival or growth. Our study illustrates that toothbrushes harbor various microorganisms and that both period of use and user age might affect the microbial composition. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:28:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bd2445e5fd3342cb8b158a34d5d97e8b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:28:57Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj.art-bd2445e5fd3342cb8b158a34d5d97e8b2023-11-20T13:02:05ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072020-09-0189137910.3390/microorganisms8091379The Toothbrush Microbiome: Impact of User Age, Period of Use and Bristle Material on the Microbial Communities of ToothbrushesMarc-Kevin Zinn0Laura Schages1Dirk Bockmühl2Faculty of Life Sciences, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, 47533 Kleve, GermanyFaculty of Life Sciences, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, 47533 Kleve, GermanyFaculty of Life Sciences, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, 47533 Kleve, GermanyToothbrushes play a central role in oral hygiene and must be considered one of the most common articles of daily use. We analysed the bacterial colonization of used toothbrushes by next generation sequencing (NGS) and by cultivation on different media. Furthermore, we determined the occurrence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and the impact of different bristle materials on microbial growth and survival. NGS data revealed that <i>Enterobacteriaceae</i>, <i>Micrococcaceae</i>, <i>Actinomycetaceae</i>, and <i>Streptococcaceae</i> comprise major parts of the toothbrush microbiome. The composition of the microbiome differed depending on the period of use or user age. While higher fractions of <i>Actinomycetales</i>, <i>Lactobacillales</i>, and <i>Enterobacterales</i> were found after shorter periods, <i>Micrococcales</i> dominated on both toothbrushes used for more than four weeks and on toothbrushes of older users, while in-vitro tests revealed increasing counts of <i>Micrococcus</i> on all bristle materials as well. Compared to other environments, we found a rather low frequency of ARGs. We determined bacterial counts between 1.42 × 10<sup>6</sup> and 1.19 × 10<sup>7</sup> cfu/toothbrush on used toothbrushes and no significant effect of different bristles materials on bacterial survival or growth. Our study illustrates that toothbrushes harbor various microorganisms and that both period of use and user age might affect the microbial composition.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/8/9/1379toothbrushoral microbiomemicrobial contaminationantibiotic resistance |
| spellingShingle | Marc-Kevin Zinn Laura Schages Dirk Bockmühl The Toothbrush Microbiome: Impact of User Age, Period of Use and Bristle Material on the Microbial Communities of Toothbrushes Microorganisms toothbrush oral microbiome microbial contamination antibiotic resistance |
| title | The Toothbrush Microbiome: Impact of User Age, Period of Use and Bristle Material on the Microbial Communities of Toothbrushes |
| title_full | The Toothbrush Microbiome: Impact of User Age, Period of Use and Bristle Material on the Microbial Communities of Toothbrushes |
| title_fullStr | The Toothbrush Microbiome: Impact of User Age, Period of Use and Bristle Material on the Microbial Communities of Toothbrushes |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Toothbrush Microbiome: Impact of User Age, Period of Use and Bristle Material on the Microbial Communities of Toothbrushes |
| title_short | The Toothbrush Microbiome: Impact of User Age, Period of Use and Bristle Material on the Microbial Communities of Toothbrushes |
| title_sort | toothbrush microbiome impact of user age period of use and bristle material on the microbial communities of toothbrushes |
| topic | toothbrush oral microbiome microbial contamination antibiotic resistance |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/8/9/1379 |
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