I haven’t got my hands on the exact figure of this next statistic that I’m about to spit out, but I’m pretty sure 98.37% of us have shared a drink with somebody else. This I am, in fact, guilty of. Sharing drinks with somebody who you are familiar with, especially a significant other, is common. It’s not out of the ordinary for the majority of us, or at least, the idea of it isn’t. There are, of course, risks that come with sharing drinks such as the common cold, mono, strep throat, and even cold sores. All are minor to mild, nothing too, too serious. This isn’t surprising, neither is it uncommon. What is more common than I thought, is sharing a tooth brush.
Let’s say you have a one-night stand, and fortunately for you, the person is cool with you spending the night at their crib. You wake up, and your teeth feel gross from all the drinking and eating last night, but you didn’t plan to spend your morning at somebody else’s house, so you’re without a tooth brush. Fortunately for you, again, (or so you thought) the person says you can use their tooth brush. Or, you may be luckier than most of us millennials, and you may have a steady and healthy relationship with someone who occasionally will let you use their tooth brush when you’re in need. Or when you want to, for those of you that it applies to. (No judgement)
Whether or not people will admit it, sharing tooth brushes is more common than one would think. Research done by the British Dental Association says that 1 out of 10 people have shared a tooth brush before, and more are willing if the situation arises. Like all research, results are subject to bias and flaws. Regardless, there are people that share toothbrushes, mainly couples. Sharing a tooth brush is much different than sharing silverware from time to time, and way different than sharing saliva than one would think. First off, brushing your teeth may lead to bleeding, even if it goes unnoticed. This can allow the brush to carry bloodstream diseases such as hepatitis to whomever else the brush is shared with. Although there are risks for sharing saliva and silverware, blood stream diseases are much more dangerous, and sharing a toothbrush may increase the risk for an infection according to the American Dental Association, who, surprisingly, also doesn’t support sharing toothbrushes.
During my research, I came across a terribly written Buzzfeed article, that included .gifs that were more try-hard than your average, unsuccessful middle-school class clown. Interesting thing though, is that there was a poll concluding the article, in which I found the results a bit compelling. Here is question as well as the results.
It’s almost even in the amount of people that would do use somebody else's toothbrush, and those that wouldn’t. Is it safe to say that those who say they would, have? And that those who say they wouldn’t, haven’t? Either way, that’s alarming to me! 19 percent said they would explain more in the comments, so into the comments I went.
Anna attempting to use a vivid description to get her point across, but Adam with the save, again! He’s really in the comment section trying to look out. I appreciate that, Adam. I’ve also taken note of his great responses. My next girlfriend who feels entitled to my blanket will be hearing a response that goes a bit like, “Nope…it’s never ok!! Even after the millionth-time sex!”
Any who, you know what they say, sharing is caring-- but here’s to a new take on modern day, traditional (cliché) thinking (new exception alert!). If you care about the other person’s health and hygiene, please do not share.
Statements against sharing toothbrushes supported by Ratha David Loun, the American Dental Association, and Adam.
