The Toothbrush Rulebook

Anyone care to venture a guess as to how many germs and bacteria can be present in your toothbrush at a time?

Well, the answer is… 10 MILLION. Experts have found that up to 10 million bacteria can be living in a toothbrush at a time.

Germs attack brush, toothpaste is your shield

However, these little microorganisms aren’t too harmful to you or your teeth, because toothpaste acts as an anti-germ device, making them mostly harmless without moisture.

Having said that, you need to make unquestionably sure that your toothbrush is appropriately dry before you use it again. You can do this by storing it in an upright position, and needless to say, it shouldn’t be entangled with any other toothbrushes.

Clean thy brush!

If you’re a perfectionist for hygiene and dental care, you can soak your toothbrush in alcohol, or mouthwash to kill germs and make it antiseptic. You can even rinse it in half water half hydrogen peroxide solution, or dip it in boiling water for a few seconds.

Sharing is Not Caring

Sharing is caring, but certainly not when it comes to toothbrushes. This is a huge NO-NO. Toothbrush sharing can transfer bacteria and germs, which can even cause tooth decay, which is considered infectious. You have your own teeth, so get your own toothbrush!

Switch them up!

How often should you be changing your brush? Research says that you should get a new toothbrush about every 3-4 months. Not only because of the gazillion germs, but also because the bristles wear out and aren’t as effective anymore. This goes for electric toothbrush-heads too.

Three to four months is an estimated, because really it depends, person-to person, and brush-to-brush. A person using more force while brushing is likely to wear out their brush much faster. So when your bristles start bending in different directions, you know that it’s time to switch that brush.

Very significantly, after you’ve been sick, make sure you remember to toss the brush that you were using and replace it with a new one. You don’t want those mean old germs coming back to get you.

Your toothbrush is the first line of defense against an army of oral problems. So if you spend some time taking care of it, you’ll save yourself a whole lot of trouble in the future.

About the Author  

Dr. Runuk Bhandari
SRV Dental Wellness Clinic
Goregaon West