Long-term survival of salivary streptococci on dental devices made of ethylene vinyl acetate

Abstract

To keep bacteria at bay, oral devices made from ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) should be cleaned and then stored under ventilated conditions. This plastic is widely used in mouthguards as well as medical and dental devices, but clear guidelines on hygienic storage were lacking since little was known about the bacteria that survive on EVA surfaces or the conditions under which they may thrive. Taiji Ogawa and colleagues at the Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Japan, profiled bacterial growth on EVA sheets subjected to different cleaning and storage regimens following exposure to patients' saliva. Storage in closed environments favored bacterial growth. However, washing the sheets with sterilized water or mechanical brushing reduced bacteria populations, as did ventilated storage conditions. The authors recommend a combination of both strategies to maintain hygienic use of EVA-based devices in real-world conditions.

Keywords

EVA sheet / bacterial contamination / bacterial survival / salivary streptococci

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