My Toothbrush is Killing Me?

[madurobob]

I got an e-mail today from a friend warning me of the dangers of not disinfecting my toothbrush regularly. Did I realize that my toothbrush could be swarming with nasty little organisms just waiting to jump into my mouth and kill me?

A link was included: http://www.violight.com/

Seems simple enough - use UV to clean your toothbrush. I imagine that would work just fine. After all, I have a UV filter on my goldfish pond that works wonderfully.

But, do I really need to disinfect my toothbrush with UV? Aren't all the "germs" on it ones that came from my mouth in the first place? Is there ANY evidence that people are dropping dead from using their nasty, germ ridden toothbrushes?

This sounds like one of those fear-marketing items aimed at those hyper-clean obsessed. Like antibacterial everything (soap, lotion, wipes, sponges, etc...). Am I right to be skeptical?

[Wowbagger]

Not all the bacteria on the toothbrush came from your mouth. Some of it from other sources, that float in the air. But, billions of people use toothbrushes without disinfecting them, and precious few (if any!) have dropped dead from that.

[Amapola]

There are bacteria everywhere! Including already living inside you! Any one of them could potentially kill you. That's why we have immune systems. You probably put yourself at more risk by going somewhere public and touching the door handles.

Mr. Amapola suggests dipping your toothbrush in hydrogen peroxide if you are really concerned about it (hydrogen peroxide isn't a terrible thing to ingest in small amounts). If you really want to get carried away use bleach (but rinse it first before using, please) to really nail those nasty little beggars. However they do not use UV light in the hospital to sterilize things. That's because it is not as effective as autoclaves. I suppose you could autoclave your toothbrush but it would melt. :D

And I do think you are right to be skeptical.

[blutoski]

I got an e-mail today from a friend warning me of the dangers of not disinfecting my toothbrush regularly. Did I realize that my toothbrush could be swarming with nasty little organisms just waiting to jump into my mouth and kill me?

A link was included: http://www.violight.com/

Seems simple enough - use UV to clean your toothbrush. I imagine that would work just fine. After all, I have a UV filter on my goldfish pond that works wonderfully.

But, do I really need to disinfect my toothbrush with UV? Aren't all the "germs" on it ones that came from my mouth in the first place? Is there ANY evidence that people are dropping dead from using their nasty, germ ridden toothbrushes?

This sounds like one of those fear-marketing items aimed at those hyper-clean obsessed. Like antibacterial everything (soap, lotion, wipes, sponges, etc...). Am I right to be skeptical?

If your immune system is normal, just keep the toothbrush off the countertop and let it air-dry upright in a glass or other holder. Some particles will fall on it (just like they fall on your food when it sits on a table), but the bristles will be too dry for them to reproduce and grow to numbers dangerous enough to be any threat.

Any particle that could land on your toothbrush is just as likely to be inhaled.

If your immune system is compromised, use hydrogen peroxide or bleach, but you'd already have received training from a medical professional and this would apply to your food as well.

[Gagglegnash]

Hi

Meh. Just give it a good scrub with toothpaste and dish-washing-hot water if you're worried about contamination.

Hot water will ease some of the wee beasties on to the Great Beyond, and toothpaste will ease surface tension so they are more easily flushed away. You can use plain soap, of course, but the toothpaste tastes better.

[blutoski]

Another thought about UV on toothbrushes. Most toothbrushes are nylon or pvc or other plastic. UV will break it down quite rapidly, which significantly reduces the lifespan of your toothbrush.

[nimzov]

Why not simply microwave your toothbrush ?

http://www.ehow.com/how_2090563_sterilize-toothbrush-microwave.html

[madurobob]

OK, I just thought of a major benefit the makers may not have figured out yet.

If you really want to disinfect your toothbrush your best bet is bleach or peroxide or maybe even mouthwash. But, all those are liquid and you may have trouble with them in your carry-on at the airport. The first two may even be outright banned - wouldn't surprise me, at least. The UV light thingy might be a better travel companion for those inclined to disinfect their toothbrush (no - I'm not one of them).

[JWideman]

...
I thought everyone just bought a new toothbrush every few months. Cheapskates.

[RoboTimbo]

Why not simply microwave your toothbrush ?

http://www.ehow.com/how_2090563_sterilize-toothbrush-microwave.html


Take the batteries out first.

[Ivor the Engineer]

<snip>

If your immune system is compromised, use hydrogen peroxide or bleach, but you'd already have received training from a medical professional and this would apply to your food as well.

I've never seen any recipes which include hydrogen peroxide or bleach. Perhaps Heston Blumenthal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heston_Blumenthal) would be interested?

[Frinkiak7]

We use an electric toothbrush with removable heads, and the stand has a built-in UV light for disinfecting. The reason we use it is because we have kids, and strep throat tends to spread very quickly in our house. Having that extra little bit of protection cuts down on the doctors' visits.

[madurobob]

strep throat tends to spread very quickly in our hose. Having that extra little bit of protection cuts down on the doctors' visits.
The hell you say!

[Frinkiak7]

The hell you say!

Corrected. Damn my fingers of fury.

[madurobob]

Corrected. Damn my fingers of fury.

Well, I thought it was funny.

Anyway, I think I see your point. If you share your bathroom with several other people who are likely to be in there sneezing and coughing and I don't know what all, then maybe disinfecting is a good idea.

My kids enter my bathroom under penalty of death.

[Ron_Tomkins]

The only thing I've gone as far as doing and only sometimes (And still, it's made me feel a little bit like that character Monk) is that I will sometimes clean the stand where the toothbrush rests with some alcohol.

Other than that, keep brushing yer friggin teeth. :D

[blutoski]

I've never seen any recipes which include hydrogen peroxide or bleach. Perhaps Heston Blumenthal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heston_Blumenthal) would be interested?

Actually, there are some entrepreneurs in Vancouver that do provide an immunosuppression-friendly menu. The kitchen is extremely cautious about prep hygine, dishwashing, and vegetables are double-rinsed with special equipment.

[Blackadder]

That's why everybody should go to college and live in a student dorm for a few years of their life.

If your survive that, your immune system is in top condition for the rest of your life.

Do modern kids still share their toothbrush with girlfriends like we did?

[BenBurch]

Umm... The dishwasher on the sterilize cycle does a great job of cleaning toothbrushes and kills almost anything that lives on them. (And washes away things it does not outright kill.)

[nimzov]

Take the batteries out first.
That part.

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:Lj6CJ3WWvzRnuM:http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/412EF1XYT8L._SL500_.jpg%20%3C/a%3E%3Ca%20href=http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:Lj6CJ3WWvzRnuM:http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/412EF1XYT8L._SL500_.jpg%20target=_blank%3E (http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:Lj6CJ3WWvzRnuM:http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/412EF1XYT8L._SL500_.jpg)

[dudalb]

That's why everybody should go to college and live in a student dorm for a few years of their life.

If your survive that, your immune system is in top condition for the rest of your life.

Do modern kids still share their toothbrush with girlfriends like we did?


Being in the US...or any other...Army will accomplish the same thing.

[dudalb]

Was'nt there are Agatha Christie Mystery where the murder weapon was poisoned toothpaste?

[Ivor the Engineer]

Was'nt there are Agatha Christie Mystery where the murder weapon was poisoned toothpaste?

I don't know, but it sounds like another good reason to spit and not swallow.

[skeptigirl]

We use an electric toothbrush with removable heads, and the stand has a built-in UV light for disinfecting. The reason we use it is because we have kids, and strep throat tends to spread very quickly in our house. Having that extra little bit of protection cuts down on the doctors' visits.If bacteria are spreading from toothbrush to toothbrush, I think storing them more carefully segregated from each other would be more effective. UV light cannot reach any area that is not directly in line. Billions of bacteria are going to be out of sight of the UV light in the brush where the bristles attach to the handle.

I suspect the UV light is merely a marketing gimmick though I cannot say I have read any research on the benefit of UV light on toothbrushes one way or the other.

[skeptigirl]

Umm... The dishwasher on the sterilize cycle does a great job of cleaning toothbrushes and kills almost anything that lives on them. (And washes away things it does not outright kill.)"Sterilize cycle"?

[skeptigirl]

....

Anyway, I think I see your point. If you share your bathroom with several other people who are likely to be in there sneezing and coughing and I don't know what all, then maybe disinfecting is a good idea.....Or covering them? I switched to brushing my teeth in the kitchen after seeing the Mythbuster's episode showing e-coli on every surface in the bathroom including the toothbrushes. And I run the brushes through the dishwasher every once in a while because they seem cleaner that way. They stay out of way and no one coughs on them if they are coughing.

[Madalch]

If your toothbrush is killing you, switch to one that doesn't have steel bristles.

[Naughtyhippo]

Or covering them? I switched to brushing my teeth in the kitchen after seeing the Mythbuster's episode showing e-coli on every surface in the bathroom including the toothbrushes. And I run the brushes through the dishwasher every once in a while because they seem cleaner that way. They stay out of way and no one coughs on them if they are coughing.

Wha'? Was it the bad e.coli? Or the e.coli that is pretty much everywhere? (Here (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/medical_notes/83169.stm), although I appreciate that most of the article focuses on the scary ****).

Quite frankly, my kid eats dirt everytime I take my beady eye off her when we are outside. She can brush her teeth in the bathroom seeing as the dirt has yet to kill her.

[shadron]

Do modern kids still share their toothbrush with girlfriends like we did?

I don't know about your experiences, but as far as I can remember I think that worrying about allowing a girl friend to use your toothbrush would be entirely wasted effort, roughly akin to he wasted effort in padlocking a cardboard box. If it isn't, you're missing something.

[shadron]

Another thought about UV on toothbrushes. Most toothbrushes are nylon or pvc or other plastic. UV will break it down quite rapidly, which significantly reduces the lifespan of your toothbrush.

I would think that UV is almost entirely useless unless you can invent a way that every surface, nook and cranny is exposed to the light, and I don't see how that would be possible with anything as complex as a toothbrush. I know that barbers have used them for almost 50 years, and that the Viking Mars mission rotated the spacecraft in space in an attemt to kill any surface fauna (among other reasons), but they also baked the things at 250 degrees for a week first.

[Vic Vega]

There are a lot of things in life worth worrying about... This is not one of them.

[blutoski]

I would think that UV is almost entirely useless unless you can invent a way that every surface, nook and cranny is exposed to the light, and I don't see how that would be possible with anything as complex as a toothbrush.

It could be that the thin bristles aren't totally absorptive, and if the UV source isn't just a point, it may have multiple directions of attack to get 99.9% exposure.

I'd have to see the data to really know. More of an experimental question than a theoretical one.


Regarding e.coli in the bathroom: this gribblie is almost certainly going to be abundant in the bathroom - especially if you have kids. However, if you have kids, you're going to have e.coli in the kitchen, too.

And anyway, e.coli isn't harmful in trace quantities unlesss somebody's got a pathological strain. The reason we're concerned about e.coli in the water supply is that it is an indicator that somewhere upstream, sewage or animal waste is leaking in, and in areas with millions of people, there's a risk that at least one of the 'donors' may have a pathological strain of microbe (not necessarily e.coli) and that it will be consumed by many people, some of whom will be very vulnerable.

[Frinkiak7]

If bacteria are spreading from toothbrush to toothbrush, I think storing them more carefully segregated from each other would be more effective. UV light cannot reach any area that is not directly in line. Billions of bacteria are going to be out of sight of the UV light in the brush where the bristles attach to the handle.

I suspect the UV light is merely a marketing gimmick though I cannot say I have read any research on the benefit of UV light on toothbrushes one way or the other.

The issue is not bacteria transferring from toothbrush to toothbrush. The issue is that the toothbrush can re-infect you after your course of antibiotics is done, unless you replace or disinfect it. Then, everybody in the house gets strep throat again, and you've got a whole new round of doctor visits and antibiotics.

Since the toothbrush is one of the only things that you put in your mouth on a daily basis that doesn't get run through the dishwasher, we find it useful to disinfect them. Besides, replacing good electric toothbrush heads will cost around $30 for a pack of two.

[blutoski]

The issue is not bacteria transferring from toothbrush to toothbrush. The issue is that the toothbrush can re-infect you after your course of antibiotics is done, unless you replace or disinfect it. Then, everybody in the house gets strep throat again, and you've got a whole new round of doctor visits and antibiotics.

That makes sense.



Since the toothbrush is one of the only things that you put in your mouth on a daily basis that doesn't get run through the dishwasher, we find it useful to disinfect them. Besides, replacing good electric toothbrush heads will cost around $30 for a pack of two.

Mouthwash would be cheaper and more effective. As discussed, until proven otherwise, it's reasonable to assume UV probably has a deficiency with regard to shadows. I'd be interested in comparisons of real-world effectiveness.

[Mongrel]

There are a lot of things in life worth worrying about... This is not one of them.

Quoted for truth :D

[skeptigirl]

Wha'? Was it the bad e.coli? Or the e.coli that is pretty much everywhere? (Here (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/medical_notes/83169.stm), although I appreciate that most of the article focuses on the scary ****).

Quite frankly, my kid eats dirt everytime I take my beady eye off her when we are outside. She can brush her teeth in the bathroom seeing as the dirt has yet to kill her.No, it was the normal e-coli that lives in all our intestines. But the point was any intestinal infection organism will spread to the same bathroom surfaces that e-coli spreads to.

Eating bacteria is not a problem. Bacteria on your skin outnumber your skin cells and the ones in your gut are necessary for digestion. The problem is only with the small percentage of organisms that are pathogenic (or when organisms get into body parts that are normally sterile). Pathogens tend to spread in specific ways, one of which is person to person. An intestinal infection typically spreads via the fecal-oral route. You can probably guess what that means but another way of putting it is sharing spit or eating :rule10. So the place where you might toss your cookies or pass loose poos is not the best place to store your toothbrush and other items you might eat or drink from.

It was a minor switch. If it had been a major effort then, meh. But it is really just psychological that one brushes one's teeth in the bathroom. I find the kitchen works just as well. Perhaps with too many messy tots spitting toothpaste about, that would not be the case.

And in the kitchen, since toothbrushes are not the most sightly things, I am encouraged to keep them covered.

[skeptigirl]

....

Regarding e.coli in the bathroom: this gribblie is almost certainly going to be abundant in the bathroom - especially if you have kids. However, if you have kids, you're going to have e.coli in the kitchen, too.....Maybe the Mythbusters need to expand the area of their experiment. They essentially took new toothbrushes and put them to the test. And, they also had control brushes if memory serves me.

But you are correct the e-coli is not the issue. The potential for pathogens to take the same route is.

[skeptigirl]

The issue is not bacteria transferring from toothbrush to toothbrush. The issue is that the toothbrush can re-infect you after your course of antibiotics is done, unless you replace or disinfect it. Then, everybody in the house gets strep throat again, and you've got a whole new round of doctor visits and antibiotics.

Since the toothbrush is one of the only things that you put in your mouth on a daily basis that doesn't get run through the dishwasher, we find it useful to disinfect them. Besides, replacing good electric toothbrush heads will cost around $30 for a pack of two.Still makes no sense. You would have antibodies to the infection for a while after you recovered. The idea strep lingers on your toothbrush and not on other surfaces like your hands (under the fingernails is especially resistant to hand washing), the faucet handles, your nose, etc., is unlikely as well.

So, the UV doesn't work because it can't reach all surfaces and your hypothesis is unlikely to be valid. Hope you didn't pay too much for the extra feature.

[skeptigirl]

That makes sense.





Mouthwash would be cheaper and more effective. As discussed, until proven otherwise, it's reasonable to assume UV probably has a deficiency with regard to shadows. I'd be interested in comparisons of real-world effectiveness.Wrong on both counts.

Next time you look at a mouthwash label, note that the alcohol which most people assume is the antiseptic is listed as an inactive ingredient. You have to look closely. Listerine in particular tries to hide that fact.

Killing the bacteria in your mouth with mouthwash is utterly useless and may be harmful if it did work. You want the good bacteria there because it takes up space the bad bacteria then cannot settle on.

Listerine has been notorious for trying to falsely imply using it reduces infection.