[Toothbrush holder for a day-care center].

Abstract

A recent investigation of the various oral hygiene activities in 23 day-care centers located in the district administered by the Verdun Community Health Department has highlighted the need for a standardized hygienic method of storing toothbrushes. The study proposed to identify the main criteria related to hygiene that must be observed in order to prevent the transmission of contagious diseases within a day-care center, through the use of toothbrushes or toothbrush holders. Furthermore, the toothbrush holder has to meet four requirements: (1) be inexpensive; (2) be easy to build or manufacture; (3) allow the storage of 15 toothbrushes at the same time; (4) permit easy identification of the toothbrush by the child or teacher. A review of the literature, together with an assessment of toothbrush holders presently used by day-care centers in the district administered by the Verdun Community Health Department, showed that there were none which completely satisfied the required criteria. Under these circumstances, the authors of the study propose a detailed plan for the construction of a toothbrush holder that will satisfy these requirements. The toothbrush holder can be used to promote dental health to the very young. A sponsor could present it as a gift to one or more day-care centers in order to demonstrate their interest in the prevention of dental disease among these children.