Download Healthy bacterial flora in the mouth keeps blood

Healthy bacterial flora in the mouth keeps blood pressure good 2013-01-07
Tooth decay and bad gums, but also high blood pressure, can be caused by imbalance
between the bacterial species that inhabit our mouths.
By M.A.J. Eijkman, Rotterdam
High blood pressure, gluten allergy, gum disease, jawbone loss, tooth decay, expect it
or not, are diseases that can be caused by imbalanced bacterial flora in our mouths.
Previously, rapid tooth decay attributed to only a few species pathogenic oral bacteria.
The modern idea is that carries occur faster when the balance us severely disrupted
between the thousands of species of microorganism that form the oral flora together.
Twenty years ago, the American biologist Phil Mars one crying in the wilderness, with its
ecological plaque hypothesis. New DNA techniques now show that his assumption was
largely correct. With a dental disease it is about an imbalance between the
microorganisms that live in the mouth.
When Marshall published his hypothesis, they only species of oral bacteria known, were
those who could be charged in a laboratory. The modern DNA testing, whereby gene
series are determined from samples from the mouth, intestines, skin, sea or land, shows
that there live way more species than was supposed a few years ago. There are many
more species, but it is also clear that everyone has his own species composition of
bacteria in mouth, intestines and skin.
This concept of personal flora is called a micro biome. In everyone’s mouth this are not
only bacteria, but also fungi, yeasts and other unicellular complexes.
The oral micro biome has many useful and sometimes even indispensable functions. It
is not only about the beginning of digestion, but also the production of specific
biomolecules such as some vitamins and the formation of a natural defense against
malignant bacteria. TNO microbiologist Bart Keijser recently wrote about it in QP
Dentistry ACTA, a magazine for dentists.
There is also healthy dental plaque. The new DNA analysis showed that it mainly
consists of bacteria from the Villanelle family. These lactic acid bacteria can rapidly
convert to a lesser strong acid. So, with a larger presence of Villanelle’s, the enamel will
decalcify less.
Lots of research has been done, for example, to the formation of tooth decay. This
occurs when the acidity (pH) in the mouth, by the formation of lactic acid, comes under
a certain critical limit. The enamel is then descaling, allowing holes to grow easy and not
to spontaneously grow by remineralization. When in there relatively live much lactic acid
forming bacteria in the plaque, carbohydrates in our food will be quickly converted into
lactic acid, which makes the plaque very acid.
More unexpected, as Swedish studies show, that an unbalanced oral flora also affects
the blood pressure. This is because some types of bacteria on the tongue play an
essential role in the production of nitrite (NO2) and nitric oxide (NO).
NO is the key signal of the proper functioning of the circulatory system. The body can
make it by itself, but the important commodity nitrite (NO2) exists, among other things,
of nitrate (NO3) from our food. Especially vegetables like lettuce, spinach and beets
contain nitrate that is converted in to nitrite by oral bacteria. And people with higher
nitrite concentrations in the blood have a lower average blood pressure.
Investigations let volunteers rinse with mouthwash that contains chlorhexidine. It has a
bactericidal effect. It blocked the increase of nitrite content in the blood and increased
the blood pressure. Further research should determine how to keep a healthy balance
of the oral flora. Perhaps there is more to do than brushing, flossing and firing