The Oral Microbiome and Us

 Yes, if the mouth is a gateway to our bodies, then there is surely a connection between the health of the mouth and the health of the body.

 This connection is multi-faceted. It’ll blow your mind!

 Here’s one example. Many of us accept that when we scrap a knee or a shin, cut a finger or suffer any wound, it’s important to clean the site, the portal, removing debris like dirt and more. We do this both to reduce the likelihood of a localized infection and to reduce the probability of the microbes getting into our bloodstream and traveling to other parts of the body.

 Let’s return to the mouth. Yes, every living tooth in our mouths, whether a primary tooth or a permanent tooth, is fed by a blood supply. It makes sense, right? Because our teeth are alive!

 … and just like a skinned knee, when our gums bleed (daily, or as a result of daily care or an oral procedure), a pathway is opened up. This pathway is our bloodstream. As blood circulates throughout our bodies, the microbes that reside in the mouth are now able to enter the blood supply and be carried to other locations throughout our bodies.

 Why does this matter?

 Bleeding during routine everyday care is a sure sign of inflammation. Remember Dr Willoughby D Miller, a 19th century dentist from Ohio? He underlined the importance of this pathway more than 100 years ago. Today we know that gum disease is linked to heart attacks and strokes. Gum disease increases the risk of head, neck, pancreatic and kidney cancers. Both gum diseases and tooth loss increase the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and a variety of autoimmune conditions. Gum disease has been linked to lower birth weights in babies and hormonal imbalances.

 Did you know that the combination of both bleeding gums and diabetes, increases the risk of premature death by 400 to 700 percent. That’s a considerable increase! Additional associations abound.

 It matters for all these reasons and more. It matters because more than half the adult population in America ~ actually something like 80% ~ have some form of gum disease. What’s more, many people in America cannot afford to pay for oral care! Now that’s a bloody shame (no pun intended).

 So what can we do?

 We can begin by making a commitment to both get to know and care for our mouths. We can start with making a commitment to daily care and teaching fun, simple, easy, effective and affordable herbal daily care practices.

 It means that we can use appropriate tools to care for our mouths and not old, ratty toothbrushes or other implements that should have been discarded long ago.

 It means that we can begin to store our tools appropriately. Toothbrushes should not be stored adjacent to toilet bowls. The toothbrushes that we’re using should not be stored or rest touching toothbrushes that other people are using to clean their mouths.

 Now wait … here’s an interesting tidbit! Kissing! Did you know that as many as 80 million bacteria can be transferred during a 10 second kiss‡. Now that’s a big transfer. Our oral microbiome is also shaped by what we eat and even where we live.

 We are unique

 Each mouth, even the mouths of identical twins, has a unique oral biome. That means that the microscopic community that lives in our mouths is unique to each of us. And what a community it is!

 It’s never too late, or too soon, to learn about the mouth, and the tools we use to care for this magnificent space. In the meantime? It may be of interest to become familiar with some of the microorganisms that can make up an oral microbiome.

 I think this is a great graphic. It represents the sizes of various microbial populations both using color and font size.

(From: https://mpkb.org/home/diseases/periodontal Nov 5 2022, as cited in the work offered by The Marshall Protocol Knowledge Base on Periodontal disease and gingivitis

https://mpkb.org/home/diseases/periodontal

An amuse-bouche

An amuse-bouche is a French term meaning “mouth amuser”. In culinary terms, an amuse bouche is a small, bite-sized hors d'oeuvre. I use it here to introduce you to the mouth itself.

Some researchers have estimated that there are more microorganisms in the mouth than there are people on planet earth. It’s time we got to know them, as well as the mouth itself and how we can care for this marvelous temple with an array of herbs. Bon apetit!

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‡ Shaping the oral microbiota through intimate kissing. Kort et al. Microbiome 2014, 2:41 http://www.microbiomejournal.com/content/2/1/41