An interesting study in the International Journal of Dental Hygiene examined the way patients clean their toothbrushes after use and the bacteria found in the bristles. The title of the study is Knowledge Evaluation and Assessment of Bacterial Contamination of Toothbrushes.
The human mouth contains billions of microscopic organisms and those are easily transferred to anything that comes in contact with the mouth or saliva. Probably the most common object that goes into the mouth and than back out is the toothbrush. Most people replace their toothbrush every 90-180 days, but over that time bacteria are transferred from the mouth to the brush and then back to the mouth.
If you think about that analytically... most people brush their teeth at least twice a day. The recommended time for brushing is 2 minutes. That means for roughly 4 minutes a day toothbrush bristles are in contact wtih teeth. In 90 days of 4 minutes per day contact, the bristles have been in contact with the teeth for 90x4=360 minutes. During that time a lot of microorganisms are transferred to the bristles.
After use most people rinse the brush under running water and some will even then tap their brush against the sink to remove excess water from the bristles, but that's about as much cleaning as most people do. The bristles are left moist and then placed in some type of holder until the next use.
The study analyzed cleaning methods used by the study subjects and then monitored the brushes used to see what bacteria was present and how it grew. It's an interesting read and it can be a little disconcerting when you think about it. Lots of bugs are growing on those bristles as they sit in the bathroom waiting for the next use.
For years I've used a UV toothbrush sanitizer. There are a lot of them on the market and most can be purchased for under $50. In basic terms, it's a small LED that uses UV-C light focused on the bristles that kill the germs growing there. I started using one when they first came on the market thinking it was probably "a good idea", but not out of any real concern. However, more and more research is showing how much bacteria is present in those bristles so I'm glad I was an early adopter.
The study makes for some fascinating reading and you can find it with this link. This is also a subject that professionals should be discussing with our patients. Most people don't really think about things like this, but it's definitely something patient should be aware of. This is especially true for patients that are immunocompromised. Anything that reduces exposure to pathogens for those patients is important.
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