Do You Share Your Toothbrush?
![Do You Share Your Toothbrush?](https://www.drsandamoldovan.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/do-you-share-your-toothbrush-300x257.jpg)
NO WAY! you say, because that’s just gross! All those bugs living on those bristles are just dying to find another warm place to live, like someone’s mouth!
I remember when i was in college I saw many kids sharing toothbrushes by just disinfecting them with a little mouthwash. After all, Listerine kills 99.9% of germs, right? Well, although that may be true, there are other diseases that can get transferred via your toothbrush.
Take, for example, viruses like mononucleosis or Hepatitis C or HIV. If someone’s gums are bleeding, then the virus can survive on the bristles and re-infect the next person using that toothbrush. You might think the risk of that happening is small, but think again. A recent study in Hong Kong showed that Hepatitis B transmission by sharing a toothbrush or razor was appreciated by 41% of the subjects, second only to sexual contact.
Anther study looked at the virus present on the brushes of Hep C patient and showed that more than 30% of the toothbrushes were contaminated.
So what’s the lesson from all this? Kids are starting college, going away for the first time. Remind them that sharing a toothbrush or a razor is not safe. The bacteria is the least of our problems, even though periodontal causing bugs are also transmissible. But Hepatitis B or C are a lot more difficult to treat once a person is infected.