The Bad Breath Blog

Sometimes it’s hard to tell if a health “craze” is simply a new buzz word or if it’s something that can be very beneficial. Recent studies have shown that probiotics can help to combat the bad bacteria that cause all kinds of ailments in our bodies such as ear and throat infections. These powerful bacteria can also improve bone density and possibly limit allergies in children when taken during pregnancy. The general notion of fighting bad bacteria with good is not a new one, as it can improve bad breath, digestion and reduce the risk of suffering from other oral health issues, as well.

Probiotics and acne
Acne is an age old ailment that plagues virtually everyone at some point in their life – roughly 85 percent of individuals have (or have had) pimples.  Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Washington University in St. Louis studied the bacterial strains on people’s faces that cause acne. Using a genetic analysis of microbial DNA, the researchers found that Propionibacterium acnes or P. acnes, which is the bacteria responsible for causing acne, is much more complex than was previously thought.

Blemishes pop up when the P. acnes that live inside human skin feed on oil and dirt and cause a red bump to appear. However, the researchers found a newly discovered bacteria strain on study subjects who were not suffering from whiteheads or blackheads. Is it a dream come true for high schoolers everywhere?

Instead of oral probiotics, which are commonly used for other body ailments, cream medications are likely to be developed that will deliver the good bacteria to the face. Lead author Huiying Li, an assistant professor of molecular and medical pharmacology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the next step is to determine a way to deliver the good bacteria to the skin before bad bacteria creates pimples and blemishes. But the goal is to promote growth of the good bacteria without getting rid of the bad, which is what happens with common acne medications.

“There are healthy strains that we need on our skin,” Dr. Noah Craft, a dermatologist at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute and member of the research team, told the Los Angeles Times. “The idea that you’d use a nuclear bomb to kill everything – what we’re currently doing with antibiotics and other treatments – just doesn’t make sense.”

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Probiotics offer a wide array of health benefits for people, and many take these supplements for stomach issues, but a recent study also found that these are very beneficial for your teeth and oral health as well. Oral care probiotics were found to have positive effects on gingivitis, bad breath and cavity development.

Now is the perfect time to get up-to-date on oral health because the holiday season is now underway. From holiday parties to family events, many people will be interacting with others on a regular basis for the next couple months and – of course – you want to look and feel your best. If you are suffering from bad breath and other health issues, probiotics can be a great addition to a diet that will give you added confidence and a great smile.

If you are suffering from bad breath, going out to public places may be unappealing. The thought of talking up-close with someone when you may be putting them off by your stinking breath can make or break a night out on the town. You may think that carrying around breath mints and gum will help in these dire situations, but these temporary solutions may actually make things worse. If you like to carry around these goodies, make sure they are sugar-free because sugar feeds bacteria in the mouth – gross.

When you are going to holiday parties, you are probably sipping on cocktails and chowing down on snacks that may contain stinky foods like onion and garlic. So if you feel like you may need to sneak away to pop a breath mint or chew on a stick of gum, making sure that it is oxygenating or zync gum will freshen the breath. There are also all-natural breath mints that help neutralize VSC’s to get rid of bad breath at the source instead of simply masking them. Refreshing breath strips can be helpful in these situations, as long as they don’t contain any alcohol because it only dries out the mouth more.

Research shows that probiotics can help decrease cavities and limit bad breath, as well as decrease the probability of getting gum disease and oral thrush. The good bacteria in oral care probiotics have significant health benefits. Probiotics work in two different ways to improve the health of your mouth, because they modify the proteins in your mouth and affect the way bad bacteria builds in your mouth while promoting healthy bacteria growth. Similarly, some probiotic strains can colonize surfaces of the mouth, making the health benefits of these products last much longer.

“We have also seen when probiotics were administered straight to the gum, that we did see a decrease in periodontal disease as well,” Denise Cole, a registered dietitian, said. “Probiotic milks and yogurts are a good source of those probiotics for you, and there are also over-the-counter pills.”

Oral care probiotics can also help eliminate periodontal disease, which affects the tissues of the mouth such as the roots, sockets and gums that help support the teeth. This diseases can lead to other harmful mouth issues like inflammation of tissues, receding gums, infected sockets, tooth loss and painful abscessed teeth. Probiotics help distribute symbiotic bacteria throughout the oral cavity. People who experience this issue may notice bleeding while brushing or flossing in the early stages, but growth of bacteria and inflammation can be eliminated by taking probiotics.

Maintaining overall oral health by using all-natural products and oral care probiotics will eliminate the worry of stinking up the room with your breath. 

TheraBreath’s own BLIS K12 probiotics got a bit of a boost this year, as a recently published study has confirmed that the specialty breath freshener has even more benefits than once thought. The report found that this particular brand of probiotic treatment may prevent oral candidiasis by keeping its pathogens from sticking to the walls of the mouth.

Not bad for a product that already modifies the flora of the mouth, eliminates bad bacteria, neutralizes bad breath and leaves the mouth smelling sweet!

What can’t probiotics do?

This latest investigation was conducted by researchers from Canada, Japan and New Zealand. The results – which appeared in the January issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology – indicated that BLIS K12 probiotics keep yeast from taking hold in the mouth.

Oral candidiasis, also known as thrush, is a painful condition caused by a fungal infection of the mouth. This disorder is pretty easy to notice: Besides causing rank bad breath, thrush also leaves the tongue coated in a startling shade of white. Many people with the condition appear to have a mouthful of cottage cheese.

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Use an Aktiv K12 probiotics kit, and you may
notice that you gradually experience less bad breath over the ensuing weeks. This probiotic regimen can, in conjunction with a specialty toothpaste and tongue scraper, dramatically reduce oral odor. But while brushing and  scraping are well-known ways to hamper halitosis, probiotics might need a little
explanation.

The era of probiotics began at the end of the 1800s, when a Russian scientist named Elie Mechnikov theorized that harmful gut bacteria reduce a person’s life span by speeding up the aging process. While he was off the mark, Mechnikov could hardly be faulted for lack of trying.

As an experiment, he drank curdled milk every day in order to modify the bacterial ecosystem in his own gut and, with luck, live longer. Mechnikov even wrote a tract on the subject, published in 1906 with the unappetizing title “Scientifically Soured Milk: Its Influence in Arresting Intestinal Putrefaction.”

The experiment ultimately failed. The Russian innovator died of heart failure at the un-Methuselah-like age of 71, though with a Nobel Prize to his name (for describing the process by which white blood cells “eat” bacteria). Still, Mechnikov had founded the study of probiotics.

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Wow, I just found out that Walgreens is having an AMAZING special on Probiotics…. but only until this Saturday, so you must HURRY!

Yesterday I posted an article all about the benefits of my new TheraBreath Multi-Symptom Probiotics, however I just stopped by my local Walgreens last night, and I discovered that they are having an AMAZING special right now!

TheraBreath Multi-Symptom Probiotics are usually sold at Walgreens for anywhere from $25 – $28, however right now, they are on sale for only $19.99, PLUS you get a $10 “same as cash” coupon you can use for anything else you buy at Walgreens. This means that you can pickup a box of TheraBreath Multi-Symptom Probiotics for only $9.99!

However here’s the catch – it looks like this special is only good for TWO MORE DAYS (until this Saturday), so you’ll need to hurry…. so stop by your local Walgreens an pickup a box of my new TheraBreath Multi-Symptom Probiotics at a HUGE discount. But do it soon as the last day to receive this discount is Saturday, April 9th.

To find a Walgreens near you, use our retail locator at http://www.therabreath.com/loc_retail.asp.

Yours in good oral health,

Harold Katz, DDS