This is what my kids’ toothbrushes look like at home.
Yep, several toothbrushes together in a cup…most likely not rinsed as well as they should have been…a bit of dried toothpaste on each one. Not a big deal, right? Wrong. It’s gross. Here’s why.
A toothbrush is most definitely at risk for contamination when stored in a cup with other toothbrushes. The Centers for Disease Control recommends we use those little plastic toothbrush covers instead, but that has always seemed gross to me. There’s no way it’s clean and dry in there! And yet, my method of letting the toothbrushes air dry in a cup has faults, too. (Bathrooms are a large breeding ground for bacteria.)
I’m pretty good about tossing the kids’ toothbrushes after they’ve been sick, but otherwise I don’t give them a second thought after brushing.
There’s a product called a Toothbrush Shield (Intellident Products) that acts sort of like a surgical mask for your toothbrush. Basically it creates a barrier against surface and airborne bacteria. It can be used for up to 7 days and then you toss it. The toothbrush shield doesn’t kill germs, so if you’re looking for an actual antibacterial product, this isn’t it. But it DOES block germs and bacteria from our toothbrushes. During cold and flu season, I’ll take all the germ blocking I can get!
So where you can buy the Intellident Toothbrush Shields? Walmart, and Rite-Aid. And it’s a women-owned company! Isn’t that great? I think they have a great idea here, and I am definitely interested in purchasing these for my family.
I received this product in exchange for an honest review from a user’s point of view. All opinions are my own.
Nicole
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