Is it one of the symbiotic organisms, like the stuff in our guts? Do we have it in our mouths when we are still breast feeding, or does it come from something we eat, or the air we breath?
Bonus question: How do we get the friendly bacteria in our guts?
From mom’s mouth. We warn moms with active tooth decay to avoid kissing their babies on the lips or share cups or food, as it may delay the inevitable colonization by very virulent acid producers.
ew
We get friendly bacteria from each other. Once upon a time we needed our appendixes to store the good gut bacteria for us, because we were few and far between. Now, with the density of our population, we spread the bacteria to each other easily, on grocery carts, doorknobs, shared transportation, everything.
2007 article on theories about the appendix, though it appears to still be under debate, it seems to make a lot of sense.
So once you’ve gotten some of this bacteria in your mouth, can you ever completely get rid of it?
And once you’ve got it, does it do any additional harm to kiss someone without checking their dental records?
Our mouths are, for reasons I don’t think we really understand yet, most vulnerable to these invasions before and as our teeth erupt. When we’re babies and kids, in other words.
But yes, kissing, especially open mouthed kissing, can spread tooth decay and gum disease between adults, too. http://www.yourtango.com/201174786/kissing-can-cause-cavities
Gah! Hey, new guy I’m dating - have you been to the dentist within the last 6 months? No? No kissy till I see a clean bill of oral health!
If I’m understanding these articles correctly, there needs to be active cavities happening in order to be “contagious.” Ack. That squicks me out. I never really thought of a cavity (as opposed to gum disease) as an infection, but yeah, I guess it is. I’m feeling the need to brush my teeth again today. And pull out the floss again, too.
Bumping this thread to report the discovery of a molecule that kills the bacteria that causes tooth decay.
If legit, it would be nice to see this in toothpaste and mouthwash.
My brother in law, a dentist, has told me that if we were to spray (some bacteria culture I forgot) in an infant’s mouth immediately upon birth, they would have something like a 99% chance of never getting cavities. He’s very smart, and not a CT guy, so I imagine there’s something more to this, or it would be done already.
Even if you stop the S. Mutans that causes cavities you can still get tooth decay from eating acidic foods and beverages. Most beverages on the market (except for water, milk and some teas) are acidic in nature.
Another method I’ve heard of is using a bacteria that can outcompete the S. Mutans and putting them in the mouth. These bacteria don’t produce acid and they drive the cavity producing bacteria into remission. I have no idea what is being done with that. I first heard about that idea over a decade ago, the fact that nothing has come to market that I know of says something is wrong. Considering how we are very comfortable eating bacterial supplements (prebiotics and probiotics are OTC food supplements) maybe something else is wrong.
Without looking into the actual research, I’d guess that an idea like this has been demonstrated in rodent models. Testing something like this in clinical trails would not be easy. For one thing, the FDA’s regulatory experience doesn’t quite apply to probiotic treatments. Second, to clinically test the treatment as you describe it would require a very costly long-term study: treat a few hundred infants, and give them followup dental exams for a decade or two. That is, if you can prove the bacterial treatment has exactly zero chance of causing any kind of infections in the infants you’re intending to treat.
And yes, patentability is an issue. No pharma or biotech company is going to spend a few hundred million dollars on clinical trials if they can’t earn their money back.
I seem to recall a story from a few years ago. I think the strain was genetically modified and that’s what holding it up. But I can’t find anything on it now.
I’m finding it hard to believe that simply eliminating kissing and a few hygenic measures would eliminate this bacteria. I understand no one is saying that specifically, but I’d like to see a cite if anyone thinks this couldn’t be spread through airborne particles or casual contact.
Colgate is working on a mouthwash that only kills the S. Mutans bacteria.
http://union-bulletin.com/news/2012/sep/20/will-miracle-mouthwash-brush-away-cavities/?print
I would too, even incidental contact with the bacteria and then it somehow getting in your mouth would be plausible. You’d have to live a pretty paranoid and sterilized life to avoid that, beyond no french kissing. Sounds like the stress would be worse for you.
What else do you want to do with bacteria besides killing them? 
I think he means kills only that bacteria. Phrasing, Lana.
Why?
Do you find it similarly hard to believe that we could get rid of (most) STDs by eliminating sex? Eliminating kissing is essentially just as impossible.
Our microbial life partners are well-adapted to our culture as well as our biology. No need for mouth-borne bacteria to be transmissible via air or casual contact when we’re so fond of touching our mucus membranes to each other.
Note, I’m not saying that this bacteria couldn’t be transmitted in some other way. I have no information to make that claim. But there’s nothing that precludes a disease that could only be transmitted by mouth->mouth contact. The fact that there are numerous diseases that are only transmitted by close contact of other forms supports this possibility.
There is no comparison between STDs where it’s easy to limit contact, and a disease of the mouth where we have to eat and breath frequently. There’s no reason to think sneezing wouldn’t readily transmit this bacteria which only has to contact your teeth for the infection to start. Any sharing of food or untensils could transmit the bacteria, not to mention any of the many things young children, and some older adults will put in their mouths.
Yes, strep bacteria can be spread through the air. It’s not the most common method of transmission, but it does happen. Most strep mutans hangs out as sticky biofilm (which you can feel and see on your teeth if you don’t brush for a couple of days. Ick.) That biofilm isn’t inclined to break loose when you’re coughing, but if there’s enough of it, it sure can go airborne. Not very far, so it’s contagious only to those in close physical contact, but yes, technically, it can travel in the air a few feet.
No, I don’t think that eliminating kissing babies on the mouth will eliminate tooth decay. It is part of a multi-pronged approach to reduce or delay transmission, along with proper, frequent handwashing (mouth-to-hand-to-other-person contact is much more likely than airborne transmission), not sharing food or utensils with young children. Since they’re probably going to be colonized sooner or later, it’s also important to teach them proper oral care, beginning with wiping infants gums with a clean damp rag twice a day and then brushing, flossing and exams and dental treatments as recommended by a dentist. Fluoride, xylitol (in sugar free chewing gum), tea tree oil (in mouthwash), green tea and true licorice all help to kill the bacteria in someone who is already colonized. Some dentists are beginning to use clorhexidine mouthwash in children who have severe decay, but I’m not sure if that’s FDA approved or an off label use (it tastes pretty awful, and you can’t eat or drink anything for an hour after you use it, so it’s a hard sell on patients of any age, especially children.)
Again, tooth decay isn’t the most pressing oral health issue adults face. Most dental decay begins in children before or as their teeth erupt (ages 0-3 and 6-12). Eliminating kissing between *adults *isn’t a practical or even particularly desirable way to reduce tooth decay in adults. That shipped sailed when they were kids.