Abstract.Thirty‐six subjects with no evidence of clinical gingival inflammation underwent a standardized toothbrushing procedure. Blood specimens, obtained from a vein in the antecubital fossa during the last 30 seconds of brushing, were cultured under aerobic and stringent anaerobic conditions. Three subjects exhibited detectable bacteraemias,Propionibacterium sp. being isolated from two of the subjects, whileAclinomyces sp, Streptococcus sanguisandStreptococcus mitiswere isolated from the third. The implications of these results are discusse