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My son was just diagnosed with strep throat. I’ve already picked up his antibiotic but now I’m wondering if I change his toothbrush now or after the antibiotics? Or both? I don’t know how to handle sickness and toothbrushes. The funny thing is I never even considered this when it came to my toothbrush when I was sick. I just kept using it. I’m much more careful with my son’s health than my own. Any advice?
Lacey
Dear Lacey,
The whole idea that you need to change a toothbrush when you are ill is a scam made up by the toothbrush companies to sell more toothbrushes. If you have strep throat or another illness and brush your teeth with your toothbrush, it is not going to re-infect you. You already have that bacteria or virus. Your and your child’s body are already developing antibodies to work against it.
If you’re worried a dental blog won’t have the general medical knowledge for that, check out what Dr. Neil Schachter, a professor of pulmonary and critical care at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in New York City and Dr. Caroline Rudnick, an assistant professor of community and family medicine at St. Louis University have to say about it here.
If You’re Still Worried
As a parent, I understand how worried we get about our children and sometimes even when we objectively know they are safe, that nagging worry doesn’t end. If you find yourself there about the whole toothbrush thing, you can sanitize your and your child’s toothbrush. Soak the head of the toothbrush in chlorine bleach for about 5 minutes, then rinse thoroughly. There will be no residue or weird taste AND your toothbrush will be better than when you first took it out of the package.
Children and Dental Care
Most people don’t realize that oral health and general health are connected. When oral health is suffering, your child will not feel his best without knowing why. We often see patients who come in with a dental emergency that thought it was just a toothache problem, but once they had their root canal treatment, they told us they were surprised to find that their body felt better in general, too.
Keep on top of their daily brushing and flossing and get them to the dentist early. You want his early visits to a pediatric dentist to be something pleasant and fun. Don’t make the mistake many new parents make by waiting until there is a problem. Then, not only will his feelings about the dentist be anxiety filled, but the treatment will be much more invasive (and expensive) than preventative services.
This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentist Dr. John Theriot.