Prevalence, intensity and nature of bacteraemia after toothbrushing

Objective To estimate the prevalence, intensity and microbial identity of bacteraemia associated with toothbrushing. Methods A total of 141 children and adolescents, aged between 3 and 17 years, having dental treatment under general anaesthesia at the Eastman Dental Hospital were recruited. Six millilitre of blood was taken before toothbrushing (baseline) with (1) Oral B 30 toothbrush or (2) Braun or (3) Sonicare electric toothbrush or (4) dental handpiece and rubber cup. A second 6-ml sample was taken 30 s after toothbrushing. All blood samples were processed using lysis filtration and bacteria were identified to species level. Results There was a significantly greater prevalence of bacteraemia following the dental handpiece only (p = 0.02). There was a significantly greater aerobic and anaerobic intensity of bacteraemia following brushing with both the Sonicare (p = 0.03 and p = 0.05) and the dental handpiece (p = 0.001 and p = 0.005). Conclusions Toothbrushing causes a bacteraemia that is often statistically significantly greater than baseline. Toothbrushing is an important contributory factor in cumulative dental bacteraemia.