Do You Really Need To Throw Your Toothbrush Away After Being Ill?

I’m finally the other side of a particularly nasty flu-like illness, and I’m doing everything I can to prevent it from happening again. That involves sleeping and eating well and stocking up on cold medication now, so I’m prepared if another infection does hit. 

I also threw out my electric toothbrush head (which, to be fair, was looking a little ropey anyway). 

But even though I grew up hearing that this can reduce my odds of reinfection, it turns out not everybody agrees that’s the case.

In fact, one study from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston found that bacteria don’t behave at all as you might expect on the bristles of our brushes.

The trick seemed to make no difference for those with strep throat 

In a study presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies’ 2013 meeting, researchers showed the results of their tests on participants with strep throat. 

They grew strep-causing bacteria on one group of toothbrushes in a lab for 48 hours. Then, they asked kids with strep to brush their teeth with their own brushes – these were then kept in a sterile environment. 

They also asked people with a sore throat, but not strep, as well as healthy participants, to brush their teeth – again their brushes were taken in and examined.

In all, there were four groups of brushes tested: 

The ones with lab-grown strep on them, Brushes used by kids with strep, Brushes used by people with a sore throat, but no strep, Brushes used by healthy people. 

All of the brushes used by people went on to develop common mouth bacteria, but only one developed strep – and it didn’t come from a child with the infection.

Professor Judith Rowen, who led the study, said: “This study supports that it is probably unnecessary to throw away your toothbrush after a diagnosis of strep throat.”

What about other diseases? 

OK, that might be the case for strep throat. But what about my flu? 

Well, maxillofacial surgeon Dr Jason Auerbach, known online as “bloody tooth guy”, said the step probably won’t do much for healthy people dealing with colds and flu either.

After all, your immune system has already mounted an attack on invading viruses or bacteria by the time you notice symptoms and/or brush your teeth,

That’s not to say the precaution never helps. Immunocompromised people, those who store their toothbrushes very close to other people’s, and individuals with a worn or frayed brush might want to consider a change. 

Auerbach recommends “replacing a manual toothbrush or electric brush head about every three months or sooner if the bristles are frayed or worn”.

He added: “If you’re recovering from being sick and the brush was already nearing the end of its life, it’s a totally reasonable time for a fresh start.”

For the rest of us, though, he suggested the basics work: “Thoroughly rinse the toothbrush with water after brushing, remove toothpaste and debris, store it upright and let it air dry. Don’t routinely put a wet toothbrush into a closed container because a moist environment can encourage microbial growth.

“Honestly, for most healthy people, good rinsing, drying and storage are enough. And definitely don’t boil your toothbrush, microwave it or run it through the dishwasher. Your odds are greater of damaging the brush than improving your health.”

Now you know...