Microbiological analysis of dental casts stored long-term

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of bacteria and fungi on dental plaster casts stored long-term.MethodsForty-four pairs of dental casts stored since 1980–1981 were used. The material for microbiological analysis was collected with a swab and cultivated in brain-heart infusion cultures and Sabouraud dextrose broth for subsequent plating and colony identification.ResultsBacterial growth such as coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, Micrococcus sp., Bacillus sp., and nonfermenting gram-negative bacillus were present in 25% of the samples, whereas fungal growth such as Cladophialophora sp., Trichosporon beigelii, Aspergillus flavus, and Aureobasidium pullulans were found in 5.7%.ConclusionsThere was growth of opportunistic bacteria and fungi, posing no risk to healthy people.