We know that it is recommended to change your toothbrush every three months, that is to say once per season. According to Dr. Lequart, national spokesperson for the UFSBD (French Union for Oral Health), you must also bring a new toothbrush when “the hairs are ruffled.” Indeed, if the bristles are damaged, brushing will lose effectiveness and remove less dental plaque. But should you change your toothbrush if you have recently suffered from an infection such as the flu, a cold or a sore throat?
Do you risk further contamination if you don’t change your toothbrush after being sick?
In his interview for Current wife, Dr Lequart explains that it is essential to change your toothbrush when you have been ill, because “viruses and bacteria will stagnate on the bristles of the brush.” Germs that can live on the toothbrush between 24 hours and a few weeks, depending on the type of illness or bacteria, as reported by the Georgia Dental College of Augusta University (USA). There is therefore a risk of reinfection. The dentist indicates that in the event of a virus, it is also essential not to mix all the family’s toothbrushes in the same glass. In fact, this makes it possible to avoid “cross contamination, that is to say the transmission of bacteria and viruses from one toothbrush to another.”
The expert explains that during the Covid period, he highlighted the barrier gestures in the bathroom, which can also be applied when you are sick. They consist of:
- wash your hands before brushing your teeth,
- rinse your toothbrush with water to clean it,
- let the toothbrush dry head upwards to prevent the bristles from coming into contact with a damp surface which would then become “a culture broth and would promote the development of bacteria and viruses.”
Let your toothbrush air dry to eliminate germs
To get rid of these bacteria that stagnate on a toothbrush as quickly as possible, there is nothing like leaving it in the open air, in contact with oxygen. Indeed, according to Dr Lequart, using a case to store your toothbrush, for example, will promote “stagnation of humidity and therefore bacterial and viral development.”
Source : Interview with Dr Christophe Lequart