The Dirty Truth About Your Toothbrush: What’s on your Toothbrush Just Might Surprise You
Do You Know What's on Your Toothbrush ? Staphylococci, pseudomonads, coliforms, yeasts, intestinal bacteria and — yes — even fecal germs may be on your toothbrush? After you have finished eating your breakfast, you walk into the bathroom, take your toothbrush and squeeze on a decent layer of bacteria for cleaning. Wait…bacteria? While you may not intentionally add bacteria, your toothbrush is still loaded with it. And that’s what you are using to “clean” your teeth. Appropriate care and toothbrush storage are essential to achieving personal oral hygiene and optimally effective plaque removal. Can Bacteria from your Toilet Reach your Toothbrush? The quick answer is ‘yes.’ Enteric bacteria, which mostly occur in the intestines, can transfer to toothbrushes and therefore into your mouth. This may occur due to microscopic droplets released from the toilet during flushing or through inadequate hand-washing. In fact, toothbrushes may be infected with bacteria right out of the box, as the...