89coupe
04-19-2007, 02:38 PM
Gross. :-X
http://chealth.canoe.ca/channel_health_news_details.asp?news_id=20741&news_channel_id=1020&channel_id=1020
Toothbrushes could pose a threat to your health
Provided by: Canadian Press
Written by: SHERYL UBELACKER
Apr. 16, 2007
Toothbrushes are seen in a bathroom in Toronto, Sunday April 15, 2007. The toothbrush is likely giving houseroom to some pretty nasty inhabitants including microscopic bacteria, viruses and fungi. (CP PHOTO/Adrian Wyld)
(CP) - It may stand upright in a glass or lie on a counter, barely noticed until we need it. But that ubiquitous bathroom standby - the lowly toothbrush - is likely giving houseroom to some pretty nasty inhabitants.
We're taking germs here, folks. Microscopic bacteria, viruses and fungi - and you're putting them daily into your mouth.
"We have millions and millions of bugs," says Dr. Tom Glass, a professor of forensic sciences, pathology and dental medicine at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa. "A toothbrush has everything a bug needs: it has food, it has water. And most people put it in a place where it's warm and damp, like the bathroom, so the bugs just go wild."
Rinsing a toothbrush under even the hottest water from the tap won't put a dent in all the germs lodged in the bristles and head, nor will antiseptic mouthwashes or putting the brush in the dishwasher, maintains Glass.
In part, that's because the bristles that make up the brush head are made of materials that allow the bugs to snuggle in and multiply.
"The problem is that while the bristles look smooth, they are very, very porous and the organisms get lodged down in there," explains Glass, who advises replacing toothbrushes every two weeks.
"Our studies have shown that after two weeks the bristles that were smooth and end-rounded, at least two-thirds of those bristles are sharp and jagged. And therefore when you brush you have a way of getting them into the tissue, into the body."
One of those studies involved using toothbrushes to clean the teeth of dogs under tightly controlled conditions. During the first month, the scientists used new, sterilized brushes each day on the animals' teeth. Even so, those new brushes caused trauma to the soft tissues in the animals' mouths.
The second month, the brushes were sterilized daily, then contaminated with the bacteria that cause cavities or periodontal disease. Not only did the canines get a number of oral infections, "but also we began to see an occasional organism in the blood," says Glass.
During the third month, each dog had its teeth cleaned with its own toothbrush without sterilization, "just like you've been doing with your toothbrush," he said.
"Cut to the chase: this was the worst-case scenario by far. We got many, many more lesions in the oral cavity, on the tongue . . . to the point we had one dog, she was so sick, we had to take her off the study and get her well."
Glass says research has shown that toothbrushes can retain viruses like influenza and herpes for up a week, and he suggests any time someone is sick, they should not keep using the same old toothbrush.
"We recommend that people change their toothbrush at the beginning of an illness, when they first start feeling better and when they're well, otherwise they're going to recontaminate themselves."
For some, such precautions may seem a little extreme. After all, people have been using toothbrushes pretty much the same way for a couple of centuries.
Dr. Wayne Halstrom, president of the Canadian Dental Association (CDA), says he's not aware of any evidence that people can contaminate themselves with bacteria from toothbrushes or reinfect themselves with cold or other viruses.
"Essentially the issue is that you don't want to cross-contaminate," says Halstrom, who practises in Vancouver. "It's something like shared needles. You wouldn't want to share a needle, well you certainly wouldn't want to share a toothbrush with somebody because the bacteria that we find on an individual toothbrush are very specific to you or I that use them."
Both the CDA and the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association advise that toothbrushes should be replaced about every three months. After brushing, the brush should be rinsed thoroughly, then stored upright to dry in the open air - not in a dark medicine cabinet or drawer, where the damp brush can attract mould.
And don't lay your toothbrush on the bathroom counter, adds Indu Dhir, program director of the Canadian Academy of Dental Hygiene, which trains hygienists.
"On surfaces, you're going to have contaminants," she said. "So if you put it on the counter, then they're prone to collect bacteria that might not necessarily get to the toothbrush any other way."
Dhir says multiple toothbrushes used by family members should be stored upright in a holder that keeps the heads from touching, and when squeezing out toothpaste, avoid contact between the open tube end and the bristles.
Glass goes a lot further than that.
"The bathroom is the most contaminated room in the house. Everything that goes down in the toilet comes out of the toilet," he says, explaining that flushing forms an aerosol that carries fecal matter into the air.
"So we recommend that people take the toothbrush out of the bathroom."
Glass suggests storing the toothbrush in the window of the bedroom, where ultraviolet light from the sun will help kill germs. The head should be clear, so light can pass through it, he adds.
And when travelling, your toothbrush should be kept out of the hotel bathroom - research has shown that the cheaper the room rate, the higher the bug count - and pitched before checking out, he says.
"Do not store it in the bathroom because the guy the night before was throwing up all night and flushing the toilet. Never bring a toothbrush home."
The issue of toothbrush cleanliness has even given rise to several new devices that use UV light to zap away germs between brushing.
But Halstrom of the CDA says there is no evidence to support the need for their use.
"We have in our society what we could probably call a germ phobia. . . . The issue is do you sterilize something, do you disinfect something or do you clean something? And the attitude that is supportable from my profession is that with a toothbrush, it's sufficient to clean it thoroughly, rinse it under warm water and if there's debris that you can see on the toothbrush, get rid of that debris."
"But to actually disinfect or sterilize your toothbrush between using, it's a personal decision," he says. "But it's not something I would call a necessity."
http://chealth.canoe.ca/channel_health_news_details.asp?news_id=20741&news_channel_id=1020&channel_id=1020
Toothbrushes could pose a threat to your health
Provided by: Canadian Press
Written by: SHERYL UBELACKER
Apr. 16, 2007
Toothbrushes are seen in a bathroom in Toronto, Sunday April 15, 2007. The toothbrush is likely giving houseroom to some pretty nasty inhabitants including microscopic bacteria, viruses and fungi. (CP PHOTO/Adrian Wyld)
(CP) - It may stand upright in a glass or lie on a counter, barely noticed until we need it. But that ubiquitous bathroom standby - the lowly toothbrush - is likely giving houseroom to some pretty nasty inhabitants.
We're taking germs here, folks. Microscopic bacteria, viruses and fungi - and you're putting them daily into your mouth.
"We have millions and millions of bugs," says Dr. Tom Glass, a professor of forensic sciences, pathology and dental medicine at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa. "A toothbrush has everything a bug needs: it has food, it has water. And most people put it in a place where it's warm and damp, like the bathroom, so the bugs just go wild."
Rinsing a toothbrush under even the hottest water from the tap won't put a dent in all the germs lodged in the bristles and head, nor will antiseptic mouthwashes or putting the brush in the dishwasher, maintains Glass.
In part, that's because the bristles that make up the brush head are made of materials that allow the bugs to snuggle in and multiply.
"The problem is that while the bristles look smooth, they are very, very porous and the organisms get lodged down in there," explains Glass, who advises replacing toothbrushes every two weeks.
"Our studies have shown that after two weeks the bristles that were smooth and end-rounded, at least two-thirds of those bristles are sharp and jagged. And therefore when you brush you have a way of getting them into the tissue, into the body."
One of those studies involved using toothbrushes to clean the teeth of dogs under tightly controlled conditions. During the first month, the scientists used new, sterilized brushes each day on the animals' teeth. Even so, those new brushes caused trauma to the soft tissues in the animals' mouths.
The second month, the brushes were sterilized daily, then contaminated with the bacteria that cause cavities or periodontal disease. Not only did the canines get a number of oral infections, "but also we began to see an occasional organism in the blood," says Glass.
During the third month, each dog had its teeth cleaned with its own toothbrush without sterilization, "just like you've been doing with your toothbrush," he said.
"Cut to the chase: this was the worst-case scenario by far. We got many, many more lesions in the oral cavity, on the tongue . . . to the point we had one dog, she was so sick, we had to take her off the study and get her well."
Glass says research has shown that toothbrushes can retain viruses like influenza and herpes for up a week, and he suggests any time someone is sick, they should not keep using the same old toothbrush.
"We recommend that people change their toothbrush at the beginning of an illness, when they first start feeling better and when they're well, otherwise they're going to recontaminate themselves."
For some, such precautions may seem a little extreme. After all, people have been using toothbrushes pretty much the same way for a couple of centuries.
Dr. Wayne Halstrom, president of the Canadian Dental Association (CDA), says he's not aware of any evidence that people can contaminate themselves with bacteria from toothbrushes or reinfect themselves with cold or other viruses.
"Essentially the issue is that you don't want to cross-contaminate," says Halstrom, who practises in Vancouver. "It's something like shared needles. You wouldn't want to share a needle, well you certainly wouldn't want to share a toothbrush with somebody because the bacteria that we find on an individual toothbrush are very specific to you or I that use them."
Both the CDA and the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association advise that toothbrushes should be replaced about every three months. After brushing, the brush should be rinsed thoroughly, then stored upright to dry in the open air - not in a dark medicine cabinet or drawer, where the damp brush can attract mould.
And don't lay your toothbrush on the bathroom counter, adds Indu Dhir, program director of the Canadian Academy of Dental Hygiene, which trains hygienists.
"On surfaces, you're going to have contaminants," she said. "So if you put it on the counter, then they're prone to collect bacteria that might not necessarily get to the toothbrush any other way."
Dhir says multiple toothbrushes used by family members should be stored upright in a holder that keeps the heads from touching, and when squeezing out toothpaste, avoid contact between the open tube end and the bristles.
Glass goes a lot further than that.
"The bathroom is the most contaminated room in the house. Everything that goes down in the toilet comes out of the toilet," he says, explaining that flushing forms an aerosol that carries fecal matter into the air.
"So we recommend that people take the toothbrush out of the bathroom."
Glass suggests storing the toothbrush in the window of the bedroom, where ultraviolet light from the sun will help kill germs. The head should be clear, so light can pass through it, he adds.
And when travelling, your toothbrush should be kept out of the hotel bathroom - research has shown that the cheaper the room rate, the higher the bug count - and pitched before checking out, he says.
"Do not store it in the bathroom because the guy the night before was throwing up all night and flushing the toilet. Never bring a toothbrush home."
The issue of toothbrush cleanliness has even given rise to several new devices that use UV light to zap away germs between brushing.
But Halstrom of the CDA says there is no evidence to support the need for their use.
"We have in our society what we could probably call a germ phobia. . . . The issue is do you sterilize something, do you disinfect something or do you clean something? And the attitude that is supportable from my profession is that with a toothbrush, it's sufficient to clean it thoroughly, rinse it under warm water and if there's debris that you can see on the toothbrush, get rid of that debris."
"But to actually disinfect or sterilize your toothbrush between using, it's a personal decision," he says. "But it's not something I would call a necessity."