Have you ever noticed that some people just seem to be better at avoiding cavities than others? Part of this is that certain individuals are better at neutralizing the acid produced by harmful oral bacteria, the acid that breaks down tooth enamel and causes dental caries.
The acid produced by your oral bacteria is neutralized by yet another strain of bacteria. Unfortunately, there are many different kinds of bacteria living in the human mouth, such that a research team had to screen over 2,000 strains to find out which ones were responsible for neutralizing the cavity-causing acid. Finally, they managed to find and sequence the genome of the strain that seems to have all the properties needed to probiotically prevent cavities. They also found that this particular strain has a tendency to kill of streptococcus mutans, the oral bacteria most responsible for tooth decay.
Using this information, the team hopes to improve our ability to fight cavities. In the near future, you might look forward to facilities like our Lynnwood dentistry clinic testing your mouth for the presence of beneficial bacteria, and using probiotics to encourage your mouth to fight cavities naturally.
