Perhaps you’re on a romantic weekend getaway and notice too late that you just forgot to pack a toothbrush. Or maybe you’ve grabbed your companion’s by mistake a few times (or vice versa). Should you’re already making out with somebody, then how huge of a deal can it actually be to make use of their dental instruments too?

“There are many issues we wish to share with our companions, however a toothbrush shouldn’t be one in all them,” Nammy Patel, DDS, proprietor of Inexperienced Dentistry in San Francisco, tells SELF. That’s as a result of there are hundreds of thousands of micro organism, fungi, and different microorganisms inside our mouths. Many of those tiny bugs might be transmitted by way of smooching, too, however the well being dangers are even greater when borrowing brushes versus swapping spit, Dr. Patel warns.

With kissing, you’re normally solely exchanging saliva—which, sure, can nonetheless unfold issues like COVID and chilly sores. However sharing a toothbrush can doubtlessly introduce micro organism out of your important different’s mouth into your bloodstream, Peggy Budhu, DDS, a dentist and scientific director at NYU Langone Southwest Brooklyn Element Observe, tells SELF. The bristles (which assist forestall plaque buildup and take away meals particles out of your enamel) additionally scrub your gums—“a susceptible space fabricated from a really skinny layer of tissue,” Dr. Budhu says. And brushing too onerous (which many people by chance do) can break this delicate layer, which, she explains, can permit dangerous micro organism to enter your bloodstream instantly.

Extra particularly, borrowing any private hygiene instrument (like a razor or toothbrush) can doubtlessly expose you to bloodborne viruses that your companion might have, like hepatitis B or C, per the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC). Different extra widespread germs to fret about embody the micro organism that trigger strep throat (Streptococcus), tooth decay (Streptococcus mutans), and gum illness (Porphyromonas gingivalis). (Kissing can transmit these pathogens too, however Dr. Budhu says the danger is usually decrease as a result of, throughout a makeout sesh, it’s not like your tongue is entering into the nooks and crannies of your important different’s enamel, the place these dangerous microorganisms could also be hiding.)

One other issue to contemplate: Should you use your companion’s brush shortly after they do, whereas it’s nonetheless barely damp, that may improve your probabilities of getting a bacterial an infection, each specialists warn. That’s as a result of the microscopic organisms in query thrive in moist environments, analysis exhibits. So when the bristles are moist, the micro organism on them can multiply and survive for an extended time frame, Dr. Patel provides.

Technically, each dentists say this holds true to your personal toothbrush too. Nevertheless, that’s much less of a priority since, for one, you’re in all probability not re-cleaning your enamel whereas the bristles are nonetheless moist. Additionally, everybody has a singular oral microbiome with each good and dangerous micro organism particular to them. So, utilizing your individual brush, even whereas it’s damp, simply “reintroduces what’s already in your mouth. It’s not like exposing your self to someone else’s international germs,” Dr. Patel says.