How to Sanitize Your Toothbrush

It is important to sanitize your toothbrush regularly to prevent the growth and spread of bacteria, germs and viruses. When we brush our teeth with toothpaste, some of the bacteria from our mouth is left on the toothbrush bristles. Rinsing it in warm water just doesn't do the trick. Imagine day after day of brushing with an instrument that has been growing potentially harmful germs! Of course, you can always just replace your toothbrush with a new one, but if it's in good shape you may want to just clean it. Following are some tips on how to sanitize your toothbrush.

Boiling water is one way to clean your toothbrush. You can boil the water and then pour it over the bristles. Or you can boil the water and put your toothbrush directly in the water for a few minutes.

Peroxide works well to clean your toothbrush. Simply pour some peroxide on the bristles and watch it foam. After a minute or two, rinse your toothbrush under hot water.

Pour some Listerine (or any antibacterial mouthwash) into a cup and let your toothbrush soak in it for 20-30 minutes. That will remove germs and your toothbrush will taste great when you're done.

Another way to sanitize your toothbrush is with a denture tablet. Just put the tablet in a glass of water and place your toothbrush in the glass. You can soak it for a few hours or even overnight. Make sure you rinse the toothbrush when you take it out of the glass.

You can run your toothbrush through the dishwasher, but take care to put it on the top rack so it doesn't melt.

As a last resort, if you don't mind spending the money, you can purchase a UV toothbrush cleaner to do the job. These cleaners are available at most drug stores.