How to protect your patient from toothbrush contamination

There are more than 10 million bacteria on each of your patients' toothbrushes, according to a recent study at the University of Manchester. That means there are considerably more bacteria on a toothbrush than an average toilet seat – which has 50 bacteria per square inch, or average public lavatory floor – which has two million bacteria per square inch. Most people don't realise that every time they flush the loo, an aerosol spray of tainted water is released with droplets able to land as far away as 10 feet. Researchers from the University of Alabama found that brushes stored in the bathroom are contaminated with faecal matter lingering in the bristles. Toothbrushes aren't particular about whose faecal matter it is, so it's likely it won't just be a patient's own that is going into their mouth every time they clean their teeth! It is likely your patients' toothbrush will have been exposed to a high proportion of pathogenic contaminants such as E.coli and staphylococcal.