Electric toothbrush

[ivfbabymomma1]

I am aware this is a small issue and by no means the biggest problem in my life but...

I recently bought an electric toothbrush (came with 2 toothbrush heads) and it got delivered to my house whilst a friend was over. I opened the parcel and they saw it what it was and said oh is that yours or DHs?
I said it's for both, as our old one broke, we share it and have our own brush head each.

Well my friend was horrified that we share an electric toothbrush?! We only share the bit you hold and we have our own brush heads?!

Now I thought everyone did this?! Are we gross?????

You're wearing down the toothbrush quicker as well especially if you both brush your teeth twice a day
This argument doesn’t work. Two people will use two electric toothbrushes in the same amount of time whether they’re sharing the base or using them independently.

They’re using the toothbrush twice as often than a single person which will wear it down quicker

They then replace it with another toothbrush.

There is no additional spend associated with sharing.

So clean it then @BlastEndedSkrewt

What is with all these scruffs who just leave the handle toothpaste and dirty?

We don’t brush teeth at the same time anyway so 1 would work fine. The world needs us to stop being so materialistic and producing extra stuff anyway, so one PP (especially when the manufacturer states they can be shared) seems wasteful.

@PurpleDaisies Obviously replace it. I'm just saying you have to replace it at a quicker rate and people on here are going on about landfill garbage, so 🤷🏾‍♀️

The individual base purchasers are a marketing dream! The whole point of the different coloured heads is so you can share the base. You just rinse it and pop off the head ready for the next person - it takes literally 2 seconds. I cannot comprehend how that could be "a faff".

I know each household is different, but there are 4 of us and I can't remember a single time when we've all leapt out of bed and rushed to the bathroom at exactly the same time to clean our teeth. I mean, don't you all just take turns?

There are seven of us in my house. We all have a base each

@ReplacementPlasticUterus Depends how you brush your teeth. I brush my teeth first and then do my entire bathroom routine immediately afterwards. So it would be at least half an hour before someone could come in and brush their teeth.

I think it's far cleaner to remove the brush head every time and rinse the whole thing. Have you seen the crap that accumulates under the head if you never take it off?

*Blimey, your sex life must be fun

if you're using your electric toothbrush for Sex.. then you have bigger problems than sharing the brush*

It'll probably blow all your minds to find out that there are attachments available for these electric toothbrushes for a different kind of vibrating pleasure

Will no one think of the hygiene?

They then replace it with another toothbrush.

There is no additional spend associated with sharing.

Then there’s no additional cost saving to sharing and so it would be just easier to have one each....

In fact, it would actually be more cost saving and environmentally friendly to have one each as then you don’t have to buy these plastic, disposable ones for the occasions when you’re not together and need to have one each....

the handles, as they get really sticky and mucky and potentially spread bugs.

How would the handle of a toothbrush get "sticky and mucky" ? Surely you rinse it after every use to remove any residual toothpaste.

Where would stickiness and mucky-ness come from?

How strange, all these posters saying it's unhygienic to share the handle because it gets all sticky and mucky.

Well no, it isn't if you wash it every time, take the head off and rinse under it.

What is unhygienic and absolutely revolting is to leave any toothbrush and handle covered in your spit and dribbled toothpaste.

I live on my own and therefore am the only person using my electric toothbrush. I clean the brush and handle every time I use it as there's no way I'd want to pick up my toothbrush to use it when it's covered in residue from the last time I used it.

Just clean the bloody thing. Then you won't have to feel all 'ew, sharing a handle is revolving' as the handle goes nowhere near your mouth.

Non sharers look away now!
There are loads of pieces of equipment in a dental surgery that have the base/head arrangement. “Heads” are either disposed of or autoclaved after each use, “bases” are wiped with anti microbial wipes as per anti-cross contamination document HTM0105. So the same “base” is used for every patient as they are either electronic/attached to the chair/non sterilisable in some other way.

Like this, “base” to set fillings, the tip is removed and sterilised, the handle is wiped. Very similar to an electric toothbrush!

Image came out sideways!

Milk this’ll set the cat amongst the pigeons

Oh MilkLady02 how could you? After your post and that picture, there's going to be mners all over the country keeling over with a touch of the vapours and vowing never to visit the dentist again.

Would never have thought to do this. It's not gross as you are using different heads, dh and I would be far too lazy to change heads each time, we both have our own electric toothbrush

This is genuinely one of the oddest posts I've seen on Mumsnet. The level of aggression about sharing a plastic item with your nearest and dearest is bizarre.

Nope. Not doing that. Yes it is a faff changing the head. Can never just pull it off and have often chipped nail polish prising it apart

But you HAVE to do this every time, even if it's just you using the brush. I cannot imagine the level of mank underneath it if you don't?

To whoever is chipping their nail polish when removing the brush from an electric toothbrush, you're doing wrong.

They’re using the toothbrush twice as often than a single person which will wear it down quicker

The toothbrushes are particular to each individual so use is not increased because of sharing the electric base. They are assembled onto the electric base which is shared.

@Cailleach1 What? We're not talking about the heads, we're talking about the base.

We have our own electric toothbrushes BUT when we travel we don't take them - just have bog standard cheapies for that - I left one in Ireland once and am still annoyed about that 15yrs later

Nothing wrong with sharing a base if that suits you both

The sentence I quoted stated the toothbrush would be worn down, not the base. I just pointed out the toothbrush wouldn't be getting extra use simply because the base was shared.

@Callieach1 Yes, I know. She was responding to a poster who criticised a comment that I made. But when she said 'toothbrush' she was referring to the base, as was I.

Do people really have sticky and messy toothbrush bodies stood on the side of the sink or in a cupboard?! Even when small DD (who does have her own whole toothbrush as she uses a different bathroom to me and dh) knew to clean her whole trash brush and wipe the body down, and to take the head off to rinse it before laying it on the holder to dry.

And they clearly ARE meant to be shared - why else would many, like the Oral B ones shown, come with the holders for 2 or more heads as part of the charging unit?