Jacob Bogatin: Who lives in your mouth?

According to Jacob Bogatin in the mouth of each of us the real jungle of hundreds of different kinds of bacteria, protozoa, fungi and viruses. Manufacturers of toothpastes, brushes and other means of oral health represent a population as an army of evildoers, and the advertising creates the impression that dental caries can be avoided only under the root of destroying the jungle. However, the reality is somewhat more complicated.

Most of these microorganisms inhabit the mouth constantly. This is not surprising. In their habitat year-round heat - about 37 degrees Celsius, constantly wet, and always receives nutrients. In addition to food supplies in the mouth often get foreign objects - fingers, pencils, pens and so on, and each has new microbes. Jacob Bogatin says that at every square millimeter of tissue cheeks, in every fold of gum in each groove language lurking organisms. Even well-polished teeth teeming billions of bacteria.

Most experts together with Jacob Bogatin estimate the number of species of microorganisms live permanently in the human oral cavity, 200 - 500 of them were studied and named only about fifty. They appear quite differently: balloons, ovoids, bacilli, something like a corn cob, bottle brush, spirals, snakes ... They are attached to one place or swim in the saliva, rotating flagellum, as the propeller.

Despite this wealth of species, researchers have long focused their attention on one type of bacteria - streptococcus volatile. This round of bacteria on the teeth only man opened the 20-ies. In 1956 it was discovered that she was able to break down sugar, producing lactic acid, which eats away at tooth enamel, leading to decay.