Bacteria Against Bad Breath
Filed in archive Microbiology by ruth on July 26, 2005
Back to the title of this entry: What causes bad breath in the first place anyway? Smelly, highly reactive 'one-carbon' compounds such as dimethylsulfide are naturally produced from the breakdown of sulphur-containing amino acids
in the mouth, thereby producing bad breath.So how could you get rid of these compounds? In an article published in Environmental Microbiology, researchers were able to isolate methylotrophic bacteria, i.e. microorganisms which subsist from one-carbon compounds, from the tongue, tooth plaques (supra-gingival plaques) and gum edge (sub-gingival plaques) of volunteers. They include strains of Bacillus, Brevibacterium casei, Hyphomicrobium sulfonivorans, Methylobacterium, Micrococcus luteus and Variovorax paradoxus. Although the researchers found no qualitative difference between strains of bacteria found in the mouths of healthy volunteers and those suffering from progressive gum disease (periodontitis), no assessment was made of the levels of methylotrophic bacteria present, low levels of which may be associated with bad breath.
What's next? Let me guess: Probiotic toothpaste and mouthwash?
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Mr Wong
