THE EVALUATION OF Streptococcus Mutans COLONIZATION IN PRIVATE SCHOOL NURSERY-KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN's TOOTHBRUSH AT DIYARBAKIR REGION

AIM: Disinfection of the toothbrush is an essential parameter for oral hygiene. As a result, especially children can not clean their toothbrushes sufficiently after brushing their teeth. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accumulation level of Streptococcus mutans colonization at private school nursery-kindergarten children's toothbrushes and evaluate the effectiveness of chlorhexidine solution in four weeks for disinfection. METHODS: This study was approved by the local ethics committee. Two hundred thirty-four private school nursery-kindergarten children were selected for this study, who's aged between 24-72 months. These selected children for this study did not have any dental, antibiotic, antimycotic treatment in the last three months. Before the study, a survey was conducted about parents' education, employment, the income. A pediatric dentist made an oral examination of these children, dental caries, fillings, and missing teeth were determined. Children were divided into two groups; toothbrushes, toothpaste, and practical solutions distilled water and %0,12 chlorhexidine gluconate solution was given in a bottle for four weeks. In addition, the toothbrushes of children were collected every week. After incubation, Streptococcus mutans colonization was evaluated under stereomicroscope. All the collected data were statistically evaluated. RESULTS: The DMF-T scores were statistically significant when evaluated with parents' education and income (p<0,05), but there was no statistical relationship between parents' employment and DMF-T scores (p0,05). Streptococcus mutans colony reduction at the Chlorhexidine group was statistically significant (p<0,05). CONCLUSION: From the first brushing, toothbrushes can be contaminated with bacteria. If the toothbrushes are not clean sufficiently, the bacteria taken from the oral environment have a chance to form a colony on the toothbrushes with the effect of moisture. In addition, Streptococcus Mutans is a bacteria that can stay on toothbrushes and cause re-infection. This study shows that toothbrush disinfection is essential to prevent bacteria from re-infection and contamination of oral flora

The Knowledge Levels of Medical Faculty Students About Tuberculosis Disease

Objective: To evaluate the consequences of education of medical faculty students regarding tuberculosis and to com­pare the attitudes and knowledge of student subgroups who completed education regarding tuberculosis and the ones who did not. Methods: A questionnaire prepared to assess the knowledge of students about the diagnosis and treatment of tuber­culosis was administered by a face-to-face interview method. The demographic features of students were recorded. The answers of students who attend fifth class and completed education on tuberculosis and the ones attending first two classes and did not learn anything about tuberculosis were compared. Results: Mean age of 293 students included in study was 21.1±1.9 years. One hundred and ninety two (65.5%) of them were male and 101 (34.5%) were female. One hundred and fifty two (51.9%) of the participants were attending pre-education classes, while 141 (48.1%) were attending post-education class. When compared to the students attending first two classes, the students attending fifth class had significantly more information about the route of transmission (84% vs. 42.8%, p<0.001), risk factors associated with transmission (77.3% vs. 29.6%, p<0.001), symptoms (59.1% vs. 35.5%, p=0.001), diagnosis (70.9% vs. 24.3%, p<0.001), and duration of tuberculosis treatment (83.7% vs. 34.2%, p<0.001) and they were less anxious about having tuberculosis (27% vs. 40.1%, p=0.017). Conclusion: The students who completed education on tuberculosis had significantly more information about the route of transmission, risk factors associated with transmission, symptoms, diagnosis, and duration of tuberculosis treatment and had lower level of anxiety about having tuberculosis