In one of the most disturbing research studies we’ve read in a while, unless you can keep your toothbrush more than six feet away from your toilet, you might want to move it to the bedroom.

A new study presented at the American Society for Microbiology on Tuesday has shown that if you and your roomies are using the same bathroom, there’s a pretty high chance that someone else’s faeces is nestled on your bristles. *Yes, we felt sick reading that too. A researcher examined more than 135 toothbrushes from college students using communal bathrooms, shared by an average of five people. Gathering the toothbrushes and sending them off to labs, there were some pretty shocking (and disgusting) results… Scientists found at least 60 per cent were contaminated with faecal bacteria, even if they had been rinsed with mouthwash or hot water. What’s even more disturbing is that there was an 80 per cent chance the bacteria was from a different person. So how does the bacteria invade your toothbrush? Well apparently faecal matter from flushing a toilet can be sprayed up to six feet – catching the bristles of your toothbrush in its path. Unfortunately you can’t feel too smug for using a toothbrush cover. Lead researcher Lauren Aber of Quinnipiac University explained: “Using a toothbrush cover doesn’t protect a toothbrush from bacterial growth, but actually creates an environment where bacteria are better suited to grow by keeping the bristles moist and not allowing the head of the toothbrush to dry out between uses.” So the best option for protecting your oral hygiene? Move that brush to your bedroom…