Cleaning Your Electric Toothbrush Top Tips
The most important function of your electric toothbrush is to remove bacteria from your mouth, and that’s why its so important to keep your toothbrush free of bacteria. The bacteria that are found in your mouth are removed by your toothbrush, only to then be transferred to your toothbrush. That’s why keeping your toothbrush head sanitary is an important task for keeping it and your mouth clean.
Tip #1 – Keep It Dry And Away From Dirt
Keeping your electric toothbrush dry is the easiest way to halt the growth of bacteria. If you love traveling like I do, I would recommend that you place your toothbrush in some kind of tooth brush holder, or in a toiletry bag, as to not let your toothbrush get contaminated with any dirt or bacteria build up in your travel bag. Say that you are at home most of the time however, then its best to rather leave your toothbrush open to the fresh air, as a prolonged exposure to a damp environment can promote bacteria growth. If you do want to use a closed toothbrush holder then I would recommend that you use one that has a few tiny holes in the side of it, this will allow air to move through it and dry it quicker, making it more difficult for bacteria to grow in the long run.
Tip #2 – Hot Water
What you can also do is run some hot water over the tip of the toothbrush where the bristles are. I do this most of the time before I start brushing my teeth, and also after I’m finished brushing my teeth. Hot water will do a great job of killing most of the bacteria that builds up on your toothbrush after brushing your teeth. You can use hot water from your tap, or even use a kettle that is between a temperature of 60 to 70 degrees Celsius. You can place the tip of your toothbrush head into that water for about a minute, that should do the job of disinfecting it. Just be careful that you don’t use a temperature higher than 70 degrees Celsius, because that temperature shouldn’t be too hot that it could damage your toothbrush.
Tip #3 – Use Antibacterial Mouth Wash
You can soak your toothbrush in antibacterial mouth wash for about 30 seconds, and that should do the trick of disinfecting it. Take note that you shouldn’t soak your toothbrush in mouthwash for long periods of time, as it may damage the bristles due to the chemicals in the mouth wash.
Tip #4 – Hydrogen Peroxide
Using hydrogen Peroxide is another great way to sanitize your toothbrush. According to the American Dental Association, a toothbrush in the bathroom can be exposed to bacteria. Every time that you flush the toilet for example fecal coliform bacteria can be released into the air and can contaminate your toothbrush. Even though this usually doesn’t pose a threat to your health, you can get some extra peace of mind by using 3 percent hydrogen peroxide to freshen and disinfect your toothbrush head. Take a special note not to use the stronger industrial kinds as they may be harmful to your health, but the 3 percent hydrogen peroxide is generally considered safe.
Conclusion
From the above solutions you can see that there are a few ways to disinfect your toothbrush. I personally find using the hot water to disinfect my toothbrush head works nicely, but any of these methods should get you the results that you’re looking for. So go and have fun brushing your teeth.