This National Smile Month (16th May-16th June), the team at Luvbiotics® are helping raise awareness of important oral health issues and how maintaining a healthy mouth is instrumental in achieving full-body health.
“I strongly believe that the mouth is the mirror to the rest of the body. As a dentist, I often see that when oral health is neglected, other systemic diseases flare-up. I am educating my patients about the importance of a balanced oral microbiome and its importance for full-body health.
Dr Victoria Sampson, Associate Dentist -BDS(Lond) MFDS RCS Ed
Looking after your oral microbiome
Our mouths are populated by millions of bacteria, in fact, over 700 species of these little micro-organisms live on our teeth, gums, cheeks, and tongue. Some of them are beneficial, helping to improve our oral health and general wellbeing, whilst others cause us unwanted issues. Together, they form what is known as the oral microbiome or the microbiome of the mouth. It’s important to nurture your oral microbiome to keep the balance of good versus bad bacteria in check. Our lifestyle choices, like the foods we eat, taking antibiotic treatments, smoking, and using alcoholic mouthwash, for example, can disturb the natural balance and destroy the good bacteria as well as the bad ones. This can create the perfect environment for the unbeneficial bacteria to thrive and lead to a range of dental health problems like tooth decay, gingivitis, and bad breath.
So often the solution is to reach for the toothpaste and mouthwash to obliterate all the ‘germs’ to improve your oral hygiene. But unknown to many is that a vast array of well-known oral care products on the market contain ingredients such as SLS, alcohol and parabens, which wipe out all the bacteria and disrupt the delicate natural balance that we need to maintain. The great news is that we can keep our oral microbiome balanced and healthy with dental probiotics.
Dental probiotics explained
Taking care of your teeth and gums by incorporating dental probiotics into your oral hygiene routine will promote a balanced oral microbiome and benefit the rest of your body. Dental probiotics are emerging as a promising concept in the treatment of gum disease, they can also help reduce the risk of dental decay by reducing levels of certain decay-causing bacteria. They display anti-inflammatory properties, helping to improve gum health and reduce bleeding from the gums. There is also evidence that dental probiotics manage bad breath, by suppressing the production of bacteria producing volatile sulphur compounds that contribute to oral malodour.
What’s really interesting is the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects of dental probiotics not only benefit the oral microbiome but also have a further positive impact on the rest of the body. Just as good gut health affects the entire body, a balanced oral microbiome supports gut health and general immunity.
Tips for good oral hygiene:
- Routine is key; remove dental plaque often by brushing, flossing etc.
- Keep a balanced diet – high in plant diversity, low in refined carbohydrates, and rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
- Know your sugars – be mindful of ‘free sugars’ that drive decay-causing bacteria and hidden sugars in processed foods such as breakfast cereals and table sauces.
- Swap your snacks, choose fresh fruit over juices and dried fruit/smoothies.
- Stay hydrated, supporting healthy saliva flow. Saliva contains several mechanisms to restrict the growth of ‘bad bacteria’ and supports our immunity as well as the balance of the oral microbiome.
- Introduce probiotics – encouraging good bacteria, rebalancing the oral microbiome.
Microbiologist Samangi Wijesena (MSc, BSc) comments:
“Maintaining a healthy mouth is pivotal for your overall health and wellbeing. Recent scientific research and advances have proven the mouth to be the primary gateway to a healthy body. As a Microbiologist, I highly recommend Luvbiotics oral care products with added probiotics to re-balance your oral microbiome for a happier, healthier mouth”.
The Luvbiotics® Advanced Dental Hygiene range uses bionet technology powered by probiotics and xylitol with natural ingredients to promote good bacteria and balance oral flora for a happier, healthier mouth, improved wellbeing, and a healthier body.
Available as toothpaste, mouthwash, and handy lozenges to help brush, cleanse and maintain good dental hygiene throughout the day, wherever you are.
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