Do you brush your teeth with microorganisms?! Oral hygiene is one of the most important things that can affect our general health, so we should pay attention to it. Toothbrush is the main tool that keeps our oral hygiene good. Most of people store their toothbrushes in the bathroom which appeared to be totally wrong. Keeping your toothbrush in the bathroom near the toilet seat makes it exposed to too much microorganisms which will stuck to the brush hair. While flushing the toilet, too much bacteria and microorganisms dissipate in the air reaching to toothbrush bristles. If the toothbrush is wet, it becomes a perfect medium for the bacteria and germs to live, duplicate and make colonies. And after that, you are going to brush your teeth, gum and tongue with microorganisms. This contaminated toothbrush can bring these microorganisms to bloodstream, as a result your general health will be affected. The risk will be higher if you are immunocompromised (ex:- patients with prosthetic heart valve) . To avoid these consequences, let's know how to keep your toothbrush clean and sterile :- 1-Rinse the toothbrush with hot water before using it. 2-Soak the brush bristles with mouthwash as a disinfectant which may help. 3-After brushing your teeth, wash the bristles again with water then dry it (never store the toothbrush while being wet). 4-Try to store it out of the bathroom. If there is no room to do that, try to keep it away from the toilet seat. 5-change the toothbrush regularly every 3 months.
