Dental insurance customers have been reminded about the importance of not lending their toothbrushes to friends following the completion of a new oral hygiene survey.
According to a joint study between health insurance provider HSA and the British Dental Health Foundation, 60 per cent of the population confess they would have no qualms about sharing their toothbrush with another person.
However, Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Health Foundation, has warned that these people could run the risk of catching harmful infections as a result of their actions.
More specifically, he claimed that sharing a toothbrush could lead to owners catching a cold or, more seriously, contracting hepatitis B or HIV.
"It's worrying that so any people either aren't aware of don't care that by sharing a toothbrush they could be running the risk of catching a serious infection," he commented.
In addition to dental insurance cover, HSA also offers customers a wide range of other protection products.
These include general medical insurance protection and optical health cash plans.
Indeed, the company has been offering insurance products ever since its inception in 1922.




