# Would it be possible to make the cavity-causing bacteria in one's mouth go extinct? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 8, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-make-the-cavity-causing-bacteria-in-ones-mouth-go-extinct/722002 "2015-06-08T20:58:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-make-the-cavity-causing-bacteria-in-ones-mouth-go-extinct/722002/21 "2015-06-09T22:13:50Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I got them from my ex-husband. How do I know? Same lab in Micro I once did in A&P, cheek swab under a microscope. No cocci until I kissed that dirty bastard. The teacher was so surprised I had none that I had to swab again to prove to her I was doing it right. No cavities as a kid or young adult, either (which makes me wonder if I have some resistance to them, as he was certainly not the first person I kissed!) One very bad cavity that required a root canal and crown after I hooked up with him. I’ve had recurring duodenal ulcers ever since grad school, and blame my roommate, who had severe ulcers, for the _Helicobacter pylori_. We didn’t have very hot water in the apartment. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-make-the-cavity-causing-bacteria-in-ones-mouth-go-extinct/722002/22 "2015-06-09T23:25:08Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > I guess you missed out on the [clinical trials](http://www.oragenics.com/?q=cavity-prevention) for this very thing. Genetically engineered bacteria that make antibiotics to kill all the other bacteria (they have both a gene that codes for the antibiotic, and a gene that makes them immune to the same antibiotic) are in trials now… No I hadn’t seen it but OP asked about bacteria in a normal mouth, not genetically engineered ones. It is interesting. Of course I heard about the upcoming vaccine against the bacteria that cause tooth decay when starting dental school 29 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-make-the-cavity-causing-bacteria-in-ones-mouth-go-extinct/722002/23 "2015-06-10T16:27:40Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Dude… babies do all sorts of crazy personal-space invading things. My 1 year old son jammed his fingers in my mouth yesterday when I didn’t expect it, and I’m sure that he promptly grabbed something (like a toy car), and stuck that in his mouth. Bam! He’s got my mouth bacteria now, or a good start anyway. > > With a 3 year old brother, he also has quite the snack-fest on bits of random half-eaten food before we can clean it up / even know it’s there, since the 3 year old likes to eat 3/4 of something, then leave the other 1/4 somewhere random. And he goes to preschool, so that’s a regular stew of funky bacteria and grotty children. > > Like it or not, your kids are going to get a somewhat common set of bacterial strains, just like you do. I was going to say something like this. Toddlers are constantly sticking their hands in their mouths. You’d need to monitor them 24/7 (they might put their hands in their mouths while they sleep, too) or keep them in a bubble to keep them from doing this kind of thing. That’s not going to be worth it from a cost/benefit perspective. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-make-the-cavity-causing-bacteria-in-ones-mouth-go-extinct/722002/24 "2015-06-10T16:32:01Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > In what way? Can you avoid passing them along to a kid by refusing to touch the child’s mouth, or will bacteria enter anyway?.. The child will ensure that bacteria enter its mouth on its own. Have you SEEN what babies and toddlers will grab and stuff into their various head-holes? (Don’t forget ears & noses – those seem to be considered suitable storage compartments for crayons and pennies.) ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-make-the-cavity-causing-bacteria-in-ones-mouth-go-extinct/722002/25 "2015-06-10T17:50:59Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Your mouth provides food and shelter for a variety of bacteria. You are not allergic to your normal mouth flora If you eliminate them, the empty Ecological Niche will be filled by some other bacteria. > > The problem is that you can easily become allergic to foreign mouth flora. My cousin got an allergy to that. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-make-the-cavity-causing-bacteria-in-ones-mouth-go-extinct/722002/26 "2015-06-10T19:26:28Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > I was going to say something like this. Toddlers are constantly sticking their hands in their mouths. You’d need to monitor them 24/7 (they might put their hands in their mouths while they sleep, too) or keep them in a bubble to keep them from doing this kind of thing. That’s not going to be worth it from a cost/benefit perspective. Hands? When I toddler I often stuck my _feet_ in my mouth. And I refused to wear shoes most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-make-the-cavity-causing-bacteria-in-ones-mouth-go-extinct/722002/27 "2015-06-11T03:09:24Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > That is an incorrect use of the term “allergy”. Please don’t do that again. I was using the Wikipedia meaning “An allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system”. As: “you may easily develop a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system in response to proteins of your oral flora if your oral flora is replaced” What should I have said? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-make-the-cavity-causing-bacteria-in-ones-mouth-go-extinct/722002/28 "2015-06-11T10:33:36Z")
Not sure, but a true allergy is not just a hypersensitivity, it’s an IgE moderated one. There are plenty of immune disorders that are NOT allergies, including some involving hypersensitivity (celiac, for example, is a hypersensitivity disorder but it is NOT an allergy. Even if people inappropriately refer to it in that manner.) I suppose it’s _possible_ to be allergic to your mouth flora, but that would be a dire situation indeed as you’d need constant medication, maybe even hospitilization, until they managed to eliminate it. I’d like a cite that that has ever actually occurred, and by cite I mean a formal diagnosis by a reputable medical professional, not something on some random internet website. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-make-the-cavity-causing-bacteria-in-ones-mouth-go-extinct/722002.md?page=1)