Your toothbrush may contain millions of microbes and a contaminated toothbrush can make you sick.
Oral health is critical and contributes to your body’s health and quality of life. Slight negligence towards your oral hygiene may ultimately have detrimental effects on your physical and mental health. Our teeth extensively contribute to chewing food and get exposed to various environmental factors (brushing frequencies, fluoride levels in the water, etc.). Hence, they require appropriate care and treatment throughout life to function properly. Various dental and oral diseases including periodontitis, dental caries, gingivitis, and oral cancer may be prevented just by avoiding risk factors and following essential principles of oral hygiene. However, poor hygiene practices promote the growth of various pathogenic viruses, bacteria, and fungi in the oral cavity, leading to fatal diseases.
A toothbrush is an essential tool to maintain good oral hygiene. However, your toothbrush may get contaminated with germs. Generally, toothbrushes are kept in a washroom, a favorite reservoir of all the deadly microorganisms. Every time you flush without closing the lid the small droplets contaminate everything in their way and a toothbrush is also one of them. Due to the moist environment of the toothbrushes, germs are likely to grow on them at a faster pace and may harbor various pathogenic organisms.
Numerous studies conducted state that toothbrushes mostly get contaminated by different species of microbes such as Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Lactobacilli, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, Escherichia coli, and Candida. These microorganisms are thought to be the cause of dental diseases such as dental caries, gingivitis, stomatitis, and infective endocarditis.
According to the Global Burden of Disease Study, more than 3.9 billion people are affected by oral diseases around the world with dental caries or tooth decay being the most chronic and great health challenge: prevalent in approximately half of the world’s population.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports indicated that the Streptococcus species were involved in dental plaque and biofilm formation. S.mutans commonly found in the oral cavity can accumulate and adhere on tooth surfaces and utilizes sucrose. Sucrose allows S. mutans to produce a sticky, extracellular, dextran-based polysaccharide, forming plaque. The combination of plaque and acid leads to dental decay. Other species of Streptococcus such as S. mitis are involved in odontogenic infection and endocarditis. These bacteria then enter the bloodstream and are a major cause of Septicemia in neutropenic patients.
Toothbrushes have also been categorized as a means of microbial growth, transport, and retention, making them suitable for bacterial reinfection. The researchers at the University of São Paulo, Brazil reported that microbial contamination was present in toothbrushes which indicated the presence of both aerobic and non-aerobic bacteria.
Studies correspond to the fact that these bacterial transmissions and contaminations on toothbrushes are also associated with heart diseases (infective endocarditis), respiratory diseases, and strokes.
Millions of toothbrushes are sold throughout the world each year. However, consumers are not aware of the contamination of toothbrushes. According to American Diabetes Association (A.D.A) 1996 recommendations, a healthy individual should change the toothbrush every three months, while patients undergoing chemotherapy must change after every three days. Those subjected to major surgery must change every day until they are completely well.
Cleaning the teeth with a contaminated brush will do more harm than good. The problem with persistent contamination and transmission of the pathogen may be avoided using Protector® Antiviral & Antibacterial Toothbrush. Protector® Toothbrush is completely antiviral & antimicrobial, from its bristles, head to the handle. Protector® Toothbrushes provide maximum protection against a wide range of viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Protector® Toothbrushes have been extensively tested by international laboratories and proven 99.99% effective.
Protector® provides you effective, safe and hygienic brushing.