The Oral Microbiome 

The human body consists of a large number of micro-organisms including viruses, bacteria, protozoa, algae and fungi. All the genetic material of the microbes inside our body is referred to as our microbiome. Each individual person’s microbiome is unique to them depending on various factors such as particular genes, the environment they live in, diet, lifestyle choices etc. Different areas of the body hold distinctive, unique communities of microbiomes such as the oral microbiome, the gut microbiome, the skin microbiome, and the urinary tract microbiome, and the list continues.

Our oral microbiome consists of all the micro-organisms living inside our oral cavity. In terms of the diversity amongst organisms, it is believed that the oral microbiome is second only to the gut microbiome. This is as, in other microbiomes in the body, bacteria are the major contributors to the oral microbiome. Most of these microbes live harmoniously within the oral cavity and some provide benefits too. Our lifestyle choices, such as taking antibiotic treatments, using alcoholic mouth wash and using dental care products with harsh ingredients such as SLS can kill the good bacteria as well as the bad ones. This disturbs the harmonious balance within the oral cavity and results in dysbiosis in the mouth. Common dental cavities, gingivitis, periodontal disease, root canals, and bad breath are all results of oral cavity dysbiosis. 

The great news is that we have the power to correct our oral microbial imbalance. Taking oral care probiotics is one of the simplest ways to correct the imbalanced oral microbiome. We can also choose to select our dental care products carefully and not to use products with SLS, alcohol, parabens, or artificial sweeteners.