A short YouTube health-advice video by Dr. Sanda Moldovan addressing whether it is safe to share a toothbrush. The speaker warns against sharing toothbrushes because bristles can harbor bacteria and viruses, cites a Hong Kong study claiming 41% hepatitis B transmission and 30% hepatitis C contamination on toothbrushes, and advises viewers (especially college students) not to share personal hygiene items.
Hi, everyone, I'm Dr. Sandha. Welcome to my channel. I had a question asked and it goes like this. Is it okay to share my toothbrush with my significant other? Well, let's talk about that. So if you really look at a toothbrush that has been used, you see all the white stuff that got stuck underneath the bristle, you might think, oh, it's just toothpaste. But that's not. So most of you might be worried, really, about the bacteria that's sitting inside these bristles. But guess what? It's not just bacteria that's inside those bristles. So we actually have hepatitis C, hiv, hepatitis B, that get transmitted through the toothbrush. If you don't believe me, just look up that study from Hong Kong that actually showed that 41% of subjects got hepatitis B from sharing their toothbrushes. And that's only second to sexual contact. The other virus that was found on the toothbrush bristles is hepatitis c. They found 30% of the toothbrushes were contaminated with hepatitis C virus. So it's just like. Think of it as a razor. You wouldn't share your razor with someone else, would you? Or maybe you would, but think twice, because there's a lot of bacteria, viruses, not only the ones that we know of, but a lot of the ones that we don't know of quite yet that could be transmitted from one person to another. So for those of you who are going to college, make sure you take a new toothbrush with you and don't use your roommates. If you have any question, tweet me at Drsanda. Until next time, brush twice a day.
