Bacteria

...Normalizing The Pathological Airway ...Oral Health Solutions

Most cases of bad breath are the result of microbial putrefaction within the oral cavity (Howe, 1898; Berg and Fosdick, 1946; McNamara et al., 1972). These bacteria produce hydrogen sulfide and other volatiles when incubated anaerobically in the presence of serum, saliva, or other substrates (Persson et al., 1989; 1990).

Bad breath is caused by Anaerobic Sulphur Producing Bacteria which normally live within the surface of the tongue and in the throat. These bacteria are supposed to be there, because they assist humans in digestion by breaking down proteins found in specific foods, mucous or phlegm, blood, and in diseased or "broken-down" oral tissue.

Under certain conditions, these bacteria start to break down proteins at a very high rate. Proteins are made up of Amino Acids. Two of the Amino Acids (Cysteine and Methionine) are dense with sulphur. When these "beneficial" bacteria come into contact with these compounds, the odorous sulphur compounds are released from the back of the tongue and throat, as Hydrogen Sulphide, Methyl Mercaptan, and other odorous and bad tasting compounds. These compounds are often referred to as Volatile Sulphur Compounds (VSC).

Everyone in the world has the same group of bacteria in their mouth. You cannot "catch" bad breath from someone else - even by kissing, and since they are part of our normal oral flora, you cannot permanently remove them from your mouth.

Most cases of bad breath appear to be due to the breakdown of proteins by a variety of micro-organisms. In people with healthy teeth and gums, the odor usually comes from the far back region of the tongue, and grows stronger when the patient starts talking. The dentist can sample this area using a plastic spoon. The odor coming from the spoon sample may then be compared to the overall odor. The very back of the tongue is an important source of bad breath, possibly as a result of postnasal drip, which gets stuck on the tongue and is then broken down by bacteria on the tongue surface.

If the back of the tongue is the problem, then the dentist can recommend a method of cleaning the area, either with a toothbrush, or a specially designed tongue scraper (in some countries, tongue cleaning is a common and ancient practice). It takes time and patience to overcome the gagging reflex. But, eventually, tongue cleaning becomes easy. Care should be taken to clean the back of the tongue thoroughly yet gently, without inflicting pain or sores.

Bacteria that have been implicated in Bad Breath

(Partial list from the literature)

Prevotella intermedia (Kleinberg and Codipilly)

Fusobacterium nucleatum (Kleinberg and Codipilly; Persson et al., 1990 Niles and Gaffar)

Porphyromonas gingivalis (Kleinberg and Codipilly; Loesche and de Boever; Persson et al., 1990)

Porphyromonas endodontalis (Loesche and de Boever)

Prevotella loescheii (Loesche and de Boever; Persson et al., 1990)

Hemophilus parainfluenzae (?) (Kleinberg and Codipilly)

Stomatococcus muci

Treponema denticola (Persson et al., 1990; Chan; Loesche and de Boever)

Veillonella species (Kleinberg and Codipilly; Niles and Gaffar)

Peptostreptococcus anaerobius (Persson et al., 1990)

Micros prevotii (Persson et al., 1990);

Eubacterium limosum (Persson et al., 1990);

Centipeda periodontii (Persson et al., 1990);

Selemonad aremidis (Persson et al., 1990);

Eubacterium species (Persson et al., 1990);

Bacteriodes species (Persson et al., 1990);

Fusobacterium periodonticum (Persson et al., 1990)

Prevotella melaninogenica (Niles and Gaffar)

Klebsiella pneumoniae (Niles and Gaffar; Goldberg et al.)

Enterobacter cloacae (Niles and Gaffar)

Citrobacter species (Goldberg et al.)

Stomatococcus mucilaginus (J. Greenman, M.A. El-Maaytah, M.G. Hartley and S. McAloon; Proteolytic activity of Stomatococcus mucilaginus; abstract presented at 2nd International Workshop on Oral Malodor, Leuven, Belgium, Oct.
19th-20th, 1995)

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Last modified: October 17, 2007