Ozone water or chloroxylenol: The comparison of disinfection effectiveness against the number of bacterial colonies in dental extraction instruments at the Universitu of South Sumatera Dental and Oral Hospital

<ns3:p>Background The application of disinfectants on dental instruments is one way to prevent cross-infection. Cross infection can occur due to microorganisms found in blood, saliva and dental plaque which can contaminate the instruments used by dental health workers. Thus, indirect contact transmission of pathogenic microorganisms occurs from instruments that have been contaminated by dental health workers. 4.8% chloroxylenol are disinfecting agents used to disinfect medical instruments. Research on ozone water as a disinfectant is still limited and no research has been found on the use of ozone water on tooth extraction instruments. However, ozone has antibacterial properties so researchers are interested in studying the effectiveness of ozone water as a disinfectant when compared to the commonly used 4.8% chloroxylenol. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of disinfection of ozone water and 4.8% chloroxylenol in reducing the number of bacterial colonies on dental extraction instruments at the University of South Sumatera (USU) Dental and Oral Hospital. Methods The samples used were mandibular molar forceps that have been used in tooth extraction procedures. This study was experimental and used 30 sample with three sample groups, where each group consisted of 10 tooth extraction instruments. The treatment group used ozone water and 4.8% chloroxylenol and the negative control group was cleaned with distilled water. After use, each of the 10 mandibular molar tooth extraction forceps was disinfected. The ozone water group was produced with an ozone generator with a concentration of 15 mg/L for 20 minutes. Then the active side of the mandibular molar tooth extraction forceps was soaked for 30 minutes. In the 4.8% chloroxylenol (dettol®) group, the active side of the mandibular molar tooth extraction forceps was soaked in 250 mL of 4.8% chloroxylenol solution for 60 minutes. In the control group, the mandibular molar tooth extraction forceps were rinsed with distilled water without using soap or antiseptic solution at all. Then the forceps were removed from the disinfection container using tool tongs and dried with sterile gauze. After that, the sample was obtained by dipping the active side of the tooth extraction forceps into a container containing 50 ml of saline solution, then covered with aluminum foil and left for 5 minutes. The forceps are removed from the sample container and the container is closed again with plastic wrap, labeled, placed in a sterile container and then taken to the USU pharmaceutical laboratory to be counted the bacterial colonies using a bactery colony counter. The test effectiveness in this study used bacteria colony counter using the scatter cup method. Data were analyzed using the Kruskal Wallis and Mann-Whitney U-tests. Results The results of the data analysis showed a p-value ≤0.001, which means that there was a significant difference in the disinfection using ozone water and 4.8% chloroxylenol on the number of bacterial colonies on dental extraction instruments. The results of this study show that the average number of bacterial colonies formed in the ozone water treatment group was 4.00 ± 4.32, in the 4.8% chloroxylenol treatment group, and 217.50 ± 39.24 in the negative control group (Aquadest). Conclusions From this study it can be said that ozone water is more effective in disinfecting dental extraction instruments than 4.8% chloroxylenol.</ns3:p>