Bacteria in the mouth, ‘the main bad breath offenders’, are overwhelmed by oral probiotics.

[Hankook Ilbo] 08.15.2020. 

Wearing a mask is now the new normal after COVID-19 pandemic and many people are noticing that their breath smells extremely bad. In nearly 85% of halitosis cases, halitosis is caused by anaerobic bacteria which live in the oral cavity and hate oxygen.

Recently, ‘oral probiotics’ are drawing our attention for the prevention and management of oral diseases such as periodontal diseases, dental caries, and halitosis. Probiotics are known to improve intestinal health. They, however, can also improve oral health.

A single mouth can be home to more than 10 billion bacteria including 700 different species. These bacteria can be divided into two groups, each of which includes beneficial and harmful bacteria respectively. They coexist in a balance. However, improper way of brushing, the food that you eat, the use of mouthwash full of chemicals, misuse of antibiotics, and such destroy the balance of bacteria and cause an undue increase in the number of harmful bacteria, thereby causing various oral diseases. 

People find their mouth dry and find their breath more unpleasant in the morning. This occurs because bacteria in the mouth tend to grow overnight. Some harmful bacteria survive from the nighttime brush, proliferate in the deeper side of oral cavity, and produce volatile sulphur compounds(VSC) which are mostly to blame for bad breath.

Periodontal disease is caused by bacteria in dental plaque. Those bacteria cause gingivitis around a tooth. Gingivitis destroys tissues, which are supporting the tooth, and can lead to loose or loss of teeth. Bacteria that cause gingivitis can spread to other important organs via the bloodstream and trigger systemic diseases.

However, probiotics that promote oral health settle in the mouth, trigger the proliferation of beneficial bacteria, detect the bacteria which cause various oral health conditions such as periodontal diseases, dental caries, and halitosis, and inhibit the activities of such pathogenic bacteria. Oral probiotics also work to restore the balance of oral bacteria.

Oral probiotics normally contain Streptococcus salivarius ‘K12’ and ‘K18’. These chain-forming, coccoid-shaped strains were discovered by Dr. John Tagg of New Zealand. S. salivarius K12 prevents gingivitis and infections and S. salivarius K18 prevents dental caries. Raw garlics, leeks, and honey and onions are foods that are high in S. salivarius K12 and K18.

For the first time in Korea, the research team led by Dr. Oh Jong-Suk of the Medical School at Chonnam National University isolated 1,640 probiotic strains from the saliva of 460 healthy children in 1997. Among those probiotics strains, 4 Weissella cibaria strains(oraCMU, oraCMS1, oraCMS2, oraCMS3), which have excellent functions in safety, oral colonization, and control of harmful bacteria, were patented. 

OraPharm Inc. is the company which launched products in the probiotics market using probiotic strains patented by the research team led by Dr. Oh Jong-Suk. To continue researches in a highly professional way, OraPharm has employed core members of the research team led by Dr. Oh and opened and operated a research institute of its own. Furthermore, the company has been verifying the effects of probiotics on periodontal diseases, dental caries, and halitosis by conducting multiple clinical and preclinical trials using ‘oraCMU’ and ‘oraCMS1’. OraPharm published 21 papers as a result of its research efforts. In 2017, OraPharm Inc. received a NET(New Excellent Technology) certificate from the Ministry of Health and Welfare in recognition of its technical prowess at curing halitosis. 

Original Source: Hankook Ilbo (https://bit.ly/3iF2NLn)