Bacteria from our toilets, the cold sore virus and thrush-causing yeast can thrive on our toothbrushes. But there are ways to keep your toothbrush a little cleaner.
Your toothbrush is a disgusting miniature ecosystem. Its fraying bristles form an arid scrubland that each day is temporarily flooded, transforming it into a wetland awash with nutrients. Thriving among the thickets of towering plastic stalks are millions of organisms.
Right now your toothbrush is home to something like 1-12 million bacteria and fungi belonging to hundreds of different species, alongside countless viruses. They form biological films on the exposed surfaces of your brush, or worm their way into the fractured stalks of ageing bristles. A daily influx of water, saliva, skin cells and traces of food from our mouths give these microbes all they need to thrive. Every so often, they are joined by a shower of other microorganisms that arrive with the flush of a nearby toilet or opening of a window.
And twice a day you put this delightful cocktail into your mouth to give it a good stir around.
So, should you be more concerned about how clean your toothbrush is?
It's a question that has been troubling dentists and doctors for years, prompting them to examine just what is living on our toothbrushes, what risks those microbes pose and how we should be cleaning our tooth-scrubbing implements.
