We take care of a lot of things in our lives–our car, our home, our health. But to take care of our oral health, we have to take care of our tools. Particularly, we have to take care of our toothbrush.

Make sure you clean your toothbrush after every time that you brush. Cleaning your toothbrush is easy! Just rinse it out with plain, clean water to remove food particles and debris. Then, store your toothbrush upright to allow the water to drain and dry.  This should be in an open-air area, as closed-off spaces encourage rapid bacterial growth.

Store your toothbrushes away from other toothbrushes. If your space requires that you store them near each other, be sure that the heads don’t touch. Touching heads contaminates the toothbrushes, spreading germs and bacteria from brush to brush.

Other ways that you can contaminate your toothbrush include using it for anything other than brushing your own teeth.Don’t use it for cleaning, and NEVER share your toothbrush with anyone else! This is extremely dangerous for your oral health, as it spreads bacteria, food debris, disease, and infection from person to person.

Finally, support your toothbrush’s hard work by visiting Jim Kelly regularly. Doing so will help catch problems early. If you are in the Phoenix, Arizona area, be sure to phone Dr. Jim Kelly Dentistry at 602-954-1901 to schedule your appointment today!