Don't be quick to toss your toothbrush after a sore throat

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-05/aaop-dbq042613.php

Public release date: 4-May-2013
Contact: Debbie Jacobson
American Academy of Pediatrics

Study shows bacteria that cause strep throat did not grow on toothbrushes of children diagnosed with the illness

WASHINGTON, DC – Word on the street has it you should replace your toothbrush after suffering from a cold, the flu or a bout of strep throat. That may not be necessary — at least when it comes to sore throats, according to a study to be presented Saturday, May 4, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Washington, DC.

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"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.