Your mouth retainer is teeming with microbes

Chances are if you’re like most people, you simply rinse off your mouth retainer before applying it to your choppers.. But according to a new report, after you learn what’s living on it, you might want to employ some soap and a scrub brush stat..

Researchers of the UCL Eastman Dental Institute found that 67 percent of tested retainer-wearers had yeasts living on their retainers, while around 50 percent had bacterias including MRSA, a bacteria that can lead to dangerous infections. Retainers that aren’t properly cleaned have a pretty good chance of fostering these harmful microbes. This said, the problem mostly arises from people who keep their retainers in a case and barely rinse them with water before popping them back in at night. Just clean your retainers properly and you should be fine.

What’s the use of straight teeth when your gob is teeming with bacteria? Start scrubbing!

See tons more gross personal hygiene facts here.