This woman from Ontario has the most toothbrushes in the world

The only plaque you will find around Kelly Hardy is the one she received from Guinness World Records for the largest toothbrush collection in the world.

“I actually didn’t even know you could set a world record for it until a few years ago and then it became my new goal in life. So it’s exciting,” the Mississauga, Ont. resident told CTV News Toronto in an interview.

In total, Hardy has 1,618 packaged toothbrushes in its collection certified by the British record publication as the world’s largest on March 9 after a 13-week wait.

“It was the longest wait of my life,” she said.

Hardy has expanded her arsenal of dental hygiene tools over the past 30 years and says the collection really started when she was 12 years old and bought a toothbrush with a built-in floss dispenser.

“I was like ‘that’s so interesting, that toothbrush’, and I never bought it when I first saw it. But I kept thinking about it for a few weeks, like I’d see it and I said, ‘I need that toothbrush’…that’s how it really all started.”

From there, Hardy’s collection grew, eventually surpassing Russia’s Grigori Fleicher’s previous record of 1,320.

Among the toothbrushes she’s collected, Hardy says there are a few that stand out from the crowd. Those include several brushes featuring The Simpsons, Star Wars characters, one in the shape of the Eiffel Tower, and the first one she bought with the floss dispenser.

Kelly Hardy can be seen next to her toothbrush collection in this image. (Delivered)

To certify the record, Hardy placed all of her toothbrushes on tables in a local school’s gym where each of the brushes was counted one by one.

“It took about 40 minutes to count from one to 1,618,” she said, adding that Guinness requires this kind of record applicants to film the entire process in one continuous shot for review.

A line-by-line inventory and photograph of each brush was also required.

Now that she’s set the record, Hardy was asked what she’s going to do with the brushes.

“I have three daughters. So I used to joke, “this is your legacy,” she laughed. “For now, I still love toothbrushes. I still like hunting… So I’m still collecting, but it’s a bit more curated, I’m not just adding everything I don’t have.”

Just in case her daughters don’t want the toothbrushes, Hardy will probably donate them.

As for what Hardy personally uses for her daily oral hygiene. The answer may surprise you:

“I basically just use the one my dentist gives me.”

Hardy received confirmation of her successful Guinness record attempt last month.

Helly Hardy shows off her Guinness World Records certificate. (Delivered)