Common practice and advice has been that you should replace your toothbrush after suffering from a cold, the flu or a bout of strep throat. But that may not always be necessary – at least when it comes to sore throats according to a recent study by researchers at the University of Texas Medical branch (UTMB) at Galveston.
The UTMB researchers wanted to determine whether it’s really necessary to discard toothbrushes for children who’ve been diagnosed with strep throat.
First, they tried to grow group A Streptococcus (GAS), the bacteria that causes strep throat, on toothbrushes that had been exposed to the bacteria in a laboratory. The bacteria did in fact grow and remained on the toothbrushes for at least 48 hours.
Next, they investigated whether GAS would grow on toothbrushes used by children who had strep throat. Fourteen patients who were diagnosed with strep throat, 13 patients with sore throats without strep and 27 well patients ages 2 to 20 years were instructed to brush their teeth for one minute with a new toothbrush. Afterwards, the toothbrushes were placed in a sterile cover and taken to a lab where they were tested for GAS bacteria growth.
GAS was recovered from only one toothbrush, which had been used by a patient without strep throat. The other study toothbrushes failed to grow GAS but did grow other bacteria that are common in the mouth.
“This study supports that it is probably unnecessary to throw away your toothbrush after a diagnosis of strep throat,” said co-author Judith L. Rowen, MD, associate professor of pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics at UTMB.
Study co-author Lauren K. Shepard, DO, a resident physician in the Department of Pediatrics at UTMB, noted that the study was small. Larger studies with more subjects need to be conducted to confirm that group A Streptococcus does not grow on toothbrushes used at home by children with strep throat, she said.
This is definitely interesting research, and I’ll look forward to seeing the results from larger study groups, but in the meantime, don’t panic if your child has strep, and you forgot to throw away the toothbrush that the child has been using. According to this study, it seems unlikely that the toothbrush from the sick child would be a threat to others or a source of re-infection. However, a fresh toothbrush is seldom a bad idea – bristles do become worn from use, and for children especially, their toothbrushes may not get cleaned thoroughly on a day-to-day basis.
Here at Pine Mountain Dental Care of Kennesaw, we specialize in pediatric dentistry and look forward to helping your children have the best possible dental health. To make an appointment, please call us at 770-426-0503 – we look forward to hearing from you.
American Academy of Pediatrics. “No Need To Toss Your Toothbrush After A Sore Throat.” Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 7 May. 2013. Web.10 May. 2013. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/260112.php
