Our bodies are homes to thousands of bacteria. Many of those bacteria simply live in and on our bodies because they are simply a convenient environment in which to live. Some of the bacteria in and on our bodies can be harmful (think of skin infections) while still others are beneficial (think of how bacteria in the gut are said to aid in digestion).
Probiotics are live microbial organisms that are naturally present throughout the body. They are often referred to as “beneficial” or “good” bacteria. Because there are bacterial colonies throughout the body, there are different types of probiotics to support good health.
Oral Care Probiotics
There has been much media attention given to the effectiveness of probiotics of to assist in digestion. So, too, are there probiotics that can help support gum and tooth health by competing with harmful bacteria for both nutrients and space in the mouth. In doing so, oral care probiotics also help eliminate the bacteria that creates the volatile sulfur compounds responsible for bad breath.
Oral care probiotics are available in the convenient, easy-to-use, travel-friendly form of mints to be taken twice per day after brushing. Called EvoraPlus, these probiotic mints are available at many major retailers and online.
EvoraPlus also offers a completely safe and natural way to gently whiten teeth to their maximum potential by producing a byproduct of a continuous low dose of natural hydrogen peroxide. Because it is such a low dose of hydrogen peroxide, there are none of the negative side effects associated with using other over-the-counter whitening products, which instead employ high doses of harsh, chemical hydrogen peroxide.
EvoraPlus oral care probiotics offer a cutting edge solution for tooth and gum health, fresher breath and naturally whiter teeth.
Forsyth Institute Contributes to Microbiome Project
Scientists from The Forsyth Institute are making a significant contribution to the Human Microbiome Project (HMP), which is seeking to identify and sequence the thousands of species of bacteria that inhabit human body surfaces.
The Harvard-affiliated Forsyth Institute has provided more oral bacteria to the HMP than any other institution, according to institute officials. Genome sequences of these bacteria are being determined in collaboration with the four HMP sequencing centers. These sequences will allow the scientific community to analyze the disease-causing potential of oral microorganisms.
Studying human-bacteria interactions could lead to new ways to monitor human health status and to new methods for preventing or treating oral and systemic human diseases. The Forsyth efforts are supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, NIH. The mission of the HMP is to enable comprehensive characterization of the human microbiota and to determine its role in human health and disease.
“Many of the strains that we have identified, and are making available to the scientific community, are unnamed and previously uncultured species,” said Dr. Floyd Dewhirst, who is part of the Forsyth scientific team. The team also includes Dr. Jacques Izard and Dr. Anne Tanner. “The availability of these strains will allow scientists worldwide to study them for the first time.”
“Researchers can now tackle key questions about these bacteria that comprise communities called ‘biofilms’ and really determine how those bacteria interact with one another and with their human host,” said Dr. Jacques Izard.
This work was also supported by other members of the Department of Molecular Genetics at Forsyth including Drs. Tsute Chen and Bruce Paster, and Oxana Baranova, Jessica Blanton, and Jennifer Mathney. A key collaborator was Dr. William Wade, Kings College London, London, UK. The long-term goals of the Forsyth team are to determine the molecular mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis, particularly in oral diseases. Understanding host-pathogen interactions is essential for developing successful interventions and preventive treatments.
Your Patient’s Bad Breath is Likely Caused by a Common Bacteria
The human mouth is filled with hundreds of bacteria. Many of those bacteria are simply hanging out in the mouth because it’s a nice dark and wet place to live. A few of those bacteria, however, create a waste product called “volatile sulfur compounds” (VSCs) – the root cause of many cases of halitosis (bad breath).
The term “volatile” simply describes the fact that these compounds evaporate readily, even at normal temperatures. The extreme volatility of VSCs explains how these compounds have the ability to offend those around us, instantly.
A person’s mouth is home to hundreds of different species of bacteria. And on going in our mouth, at all times, is a constant battle for living space between the types of bacteria which do create waste products that cause bad breath and those that don’t. And it is the precise balance between the relative numbers of these two different types of bacteria that will ultimately determine the quality of a person’s breath.
An accumulation of dental plaque creates the perfect conditions for VSC-causing bacteria to thrive on the surfaces of teeth and deep below the gum line. As more and more plaque builds up in a person’s mouth, the bacteria that cause bad breath gain available living space and proliferate, thus increasing the level of odor causing compounds that escape with each breath that is exhaled.
If brushing and flossing alone were enough to combat these VSC-causing bacteria, those who have pretty good dental habits should always have good breath. But bad breath is obviously not always the result of poor dental hygiene, and if antibacterial mouthwashes were the answer, then the same would be true – no one would ever have bad breath.
The true key to eliminating halitosis is to crowd out those VSC-causing bacteria. Probiotic oral care bacteria compete with the bacteria responsible for bad breath. By consuming the same nutrients as the bad-breath-causing bacteria and fighting with them for space on the surfaces of teeth and below the gum line, probiotics crowd out the smelly bacteria and make breath fresh around the clock.
In 2008 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the faith in the Catholic Church issued their instruction on the “Dignity of the Human Person.” It began with these words “The dignity of a person must be recognized in every human being from conception to natural death. This fundamental principle expresses a great ‘yes’ to human life and must be at the center of ethical reflection on biomedical research, which has an ever greater importance in today’s world.”
The instruction offers “…a word of support and encouragement for the perspective on culture which considers science an invaluable service to the integral good of the life and dignity of every human being. The Church therefore views scientific research with hope and desires that many Christians will dedicate themselves to the progress of biomedicine and will bear witness to their faith in this field. She hopes moreover that the results of such research may also be made available in areas of the world that are poor and afflicted by disease, so that those who are most in need will receive humanitarian assistance.”
As someone who believes deeply that the Catholic Church gives a great “Yes to Life” I am “on the lookout” for men, women and organizations who view science this way. One of the often repeated fallacies one reads in the media is that the Catholic Church opposes Stem Cell research. The truth is the Church opposes deadly stem cell research such as research on human embryos which always results in taking the life of the embryonic human person. It is immoral to take innocent human life even if one can then use parts of the human person who has been killed to develop a potential cure for another.
The Church wholeheartedly supports research on Adult Stem Cells and cells derived from fetal cord blood. Neither type of stem cell research results in the taking of innocent human lives. They also show tremendous promise! As an example of the encouragement of life affirming stem cell research, a spokesman for the Vatican recently made known their strong support for the research being conducted at the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine using adult stem cells.
As a father of five grown children and grandfather to six, I am well aware of the many needs involved in raising healthy children. That includes their moral, emotional, spiritual and physical health. Of course, their physical health includes their oral hygiene. Research shows the connection between overall health and good oral hygiene. As a 55 year old man who lost my father to heart disease, I am sensitized to that subject. I was surprised years ago to find the connection between oral and heart disease.
Dental disease is a quiet, yet growing, national epidemic. New studies, including recently-published reports from the Mayo Clinic, confirm that periodontal disease and poor oral health are linked to heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and other illnesses. American Dental Association studies show that three out of four of Americans are affected by periodontal disease at some point in their lives. My friend, Catholic Online’s own Dr. Denton, has taught me much about an integrative approach to health which respects the unity of the human person, body, soul and spirit. He has helped me understand the connection between overall health and what he calls “beautiful living.”
I recently became interested in the science of probiotics which respects the amazing curative qualities of our own body. There are both good and bad bacteria in our systems all the time. The good bacteria are the most effective way to minimize the damaging effects of the bad bacteria. We have seen the application of probiotics in the growing number of products, including yogurt, which promote overall digestive health.
Recently I read of an extraordinary application of probiotics in oral health. It was developed by Dr. Jeffrey Hillman, D.M.D., Ph.D. It is the result of more than 25 years of research which began at the Harvard-affiliated Forsyth Institute in Boston and continued at the University of Florida. The technology has only recently become available for the general public. It provides what is called Replacement Therapy for preventing dental caries or cavities.
I sought an interview with Dr. Hillman through a mutual friend. He gladly assented. I found this him to be humble, self effacing, approachable and genuinely committed to good science at the service of the human person and the common good. His academic and professional credentials are extraordinary. However, what really impressed me was his dedication to his work. He told me “People tend to take a simple approach to oral care in our culture. We think in terms of killing all of the bacteria that are present in the mouth. But it’s just not that simple; the human mouth contains many … types of bacteria, including some that are helpful to us.”
It made a lot of sense to me. As the interview progressed I saw the myriad of applications of the Doctor’s discovery. He holds over a dozen patents and has spent his career trying to alleviate suffering. He told me “tooth decay is the most common infectious disease in the world.” I had never really considered that fact. Now, every morning as I brush my teeth I think of it.
I was intrigued when the good Doctor told me he was inspired by Louis Pasteur. Like Pasteur, Dr. Hillman is serious about the potential of science to lessen human suffering. The faith of Pasteur drove his scientific genius toward the good. Above his tomb in the Pasteur Institute are engraved these words “Happy the man who bears within him a divinity, an ideal of beauty and obeys it; an ideal of art, and ideal of science, an ideal of country, and ideal of the virtues of the Gospel.” It is reported that Pasteur died with a rosary in his hand after listening to the life of St. Vincent de Paul.
Dr. Hillman was impressed with the scientists’ genuine humanism and Pasteur’s discovery that there are good bacteria which might one day be used to fight bad bacteria. Pasteur’s scientific discoveries have led to many scientific advances. Dr. Hillman told me that his idea of expanding probiotic science, the use of good bacteria to combat the bad, in the arena of oral health care was “like a light bulb going off in my head.” He has dedicated over thirty years to this project.
His father told him “If we can succeed in preventing tooth decay we can apply it to other bacteria” and he set about to do just that. In our extensive interview he explained it to me, a non-scientist, in this very understandable way, “The human body is extraordinarily complex. There are 1,000 or more different types of bacteria. They don’t want to hurt us. We feed them, we clothe them, and we take them to the movies. There are relatively few bacteria which can hurt us. We are simply helping the body by improving on the marvelous design, to prevent them from doing so.”
Doctor Hillman has patented his discoveries and now makes it all available in a line of oral health care products for adults and children. I also heard of the unique business relationship which has been entered into to distribute the products. The Florida-based biotechnology company Oragenics, Inc., (OTCBB:ORNI) and RICCI PHARMA, a recognized health products company with offices in Rome and Slovakia, have entered into a distribution agreement that the parties anticipate will provide Oragenics’ proprietary oral care probiotic products, EvoraPlus® and EvoraKidsTM, to RICCI PHARMA.
RICCI PHARMA will then have exclusive distribution rights through Duc in Altum, a foundation whose humanitarian projects are inspired by the social teachings of the late Pope John Paul II. Duc in Altum’s honorary chairman is the Polish Pope’s former private secretary for over 30 years, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, currently Archbishop of Krakow. The foundation, whose projects are known by the Holy See and encouraged by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, is expected to further promote Oragenics’ products with the Church’s capillary network of health services.
When the interview ended I was happy to have discovered one more dedicated medical professional promoting science at the service of the human person and the common good.
If simple plaque removal was enough to prevent cavities and periodontal disease, then anyone with decent brushing habits shouldn’t need to worry about cavities or periodontal disease, right? Right. So what can be done to improve oral health if brushing and flossing just aren’t cutting it?
We know that plaque is a sticky substance that coats teeth. We know that food sticks to it, and that bacteria lives in it. Some of the bacteria in plaque is harmful, some helpful, and some is just along for the ride, neither helpful nor harmful.
We also know that one bacteria in particular, Streptococcus mutans, is the biggest bad guy in plaque, and that S mutans is the bacteria that takes full advantage of the harm that sugary, carbohydrate-filled foods cause to tooth health.
So what if the answer to the entire quandary is as simple as introducing bacteria that naturally and safely competes with S mutans for both space and nutrients? What if that bacteria could naturally crowd out S mutans and leave the plaque an inert, sticky substance that causes no harm to teeth?
What if it’s not the plaque that harms teeth, not the sugary, carbohydrate-laden foods, but a bacteria that could be removed simply by the introduction of a beneficial bacteria? What if?
EvoraPlus probiotic mints contain the beneficial bacteria that can safely, naturally and effectively crowd out S mutans, leaving plaque a harmless substance that can easily be removed with daily brushing and flossing.
How You Can Enjoy Staining Foods and a White, Healthy Smile
Teeth Are A Blank Slate
Stained teeth are often mistaken as unhealthy teeth, but dental professionals know that the true measure of oral health lies not in the color of the teeth, but in the color of the gums and the health of the tooth enamel.
Now consumers can enjoy their teeth staining foods – like red wine, coffee, tea and soy sauce – and enjoy the many benefits of truly healthier, whiter teeth with a little boost from probiotic mints.
Researcher Dr. Jeffrey Hillman has discovered that three specific bacteria found in very healthy mouths – Streptococcus oralis (S. oralis KJ3™), Streptococcus uberis (S. uberis KJ2™) and Streptococcus rattus (S. rattus JH145™) – that can naturally whiten teeth with their continuous low-dose byproduct of hydrogen peroxide. Dr. Hillman has combined these potent probiotics in a patent-pending blend called ProBiora3.
Naturally Improving Oral Health
These beneficial bacteria colonize on the tooth surfaces and deep below the gum line to create true oral health.
According to the American Dental Association, 90% of school children worldwide and most adults have experienced tooth decay and three out of four people will have periodontal disease in their lives. By simply adding oral care probiotics to the daily dental health regimen of most Americans, hundreds of thousands of lost work hours do to painful dental conditions and their treatment could be prevented.
Battling Bad Breath
Market research has also shown that one of the leading drivers of breath mint and gum sales is chronic bad breath. The hydrogen peroxide released by the ProBiora3 probiotics naturally promote 24-hour fresher breath by eliminating the bacteria responsible for foul-smelling Volatile Sulfur Compounds (VSCs).
Dr. Hillman’s research is the perfect example of innovation at its finest. One blend of probiotics that can address many major dental health concerns, including stained teeth, bad breath and poor oral health? That’s ProBiora3.
Miracle Probiotic Mint from Oragenics in the News!
EvoraPlus Captures Curiosity of Primetime Viewers
Dr. Jeffery Hillman, Chief Scientific Officer at Oragenics took the spotlight in this recent piece on Tampa’s Fox News station. Dr. Hillman shared that the EvoraPlus probiotics mints can support tooth and gum health, freshen breath and make teeth whiter and brighter.
Watch this clip to see how EvoraPlus has made a difference for one Tampa woman.
ProBiora3™ is a new, patent-pending probiotic blend from Oragenics, Inc. that consists of three well researched and naturally occurring strains of bacteria that are normal residents of a healthy mouth. This highly effective approach to maintaining the balance of oral micro flora naturally promotes healthy teeth and gums, fresher breath and whiter teeth.
Naturally Supports Gum and Tooth Health
Streptococcus oralis (S. oralis KJ3™), Streptococcus uberis (S. uberis KJ2™) and Streptococcus rattus (S. rattus JH145™)
These beneficial bacteria colonize on the tooth surfaces and deep below the gum line to create true oral health. According to the American Dental Association, 90% of school children worldwide and most adults have experienced tooth decay and three out of four people will have periodontal disease in their lives.
Naturally Freshens Breath
Streptococcus oralis (S. oralis KJ3™) and Streptococcus uberis (S. uberis KJ2™)
The combination of S. oralis and S. uberis work to block the periodontal pathogens that create bad breath. By binding to the teeth and deep beneath the gum line, these beneficial bacteria leave no room or nutrients for the destructive bacteria to inhabit a healthy oral cavity. This reduction in pathogens equals a direct reduction in the volatile sulfur compounds responsible for bad breath.
Naturally Whitens Teeth
Streptococcus oralis (S. oralis KJ3™)
Natural and on-going low doses of hydrogen peroxide created by these beneficial bacteria whiten and brighten teeth without creating tooth sensitivity or gum irritation.
This technology is available as a raw material that can be easily integrated into a wide variety of formulation options. The ratios of each of the three strains in ProBiora3™ can be custom blended to produce the specific results desired for your product.
Probiora3™ contains three beneficial bacteria that, when working together, can improve the health of your teeth and gums and freshen your breath all while gently whitening your teeth.
Naturally Whiten Teeth with ProBiora3
How Can a Simple Probiotic Blend do all that?
A natural by-product of S. oralis KJ3™ is a low-dose of hydrogen peroxide. As this good bacteria is replenished daily, it creates a gradual teeth whitening with the full benefits of long contact times, delivering 24 hour per day coverage of balancing and brightening.
Yellowing, surface discoloration or staining are all results of lifestyle choices: tobacco use, coffee, tea, beets, etc. Anything that stains will affect the color of the teeth. Tooth enamel is porous, filled with microscopic cracks and pores that hold onto staining products. Commercial tooth whiteners employ extremely high levels of harsh, chemical hydrogen peroxide which can actually damage the tooth and create a roughness on the tooth’s surface. This increases the film that builds up on the tooth surfaces and in the micro cracks and is available to hold on to stains.
S. oralis KJ3™ binds to the surface of the teeth, crowding out harmful bacteria by competing for the same nutrients and surface spaces. In laboratory studies, the low-dose hydrogen peroxide produced by the S. oralis KJ3™ created a continuous whitening benefit that did not plateau over the duration of the study. With daily use, the colonization of S. oralis KJ3™ provides a constant and expanding population for gradual and continual whitening effects.
The hydrogen peroxide metabolites of S. oralis KJ3™ also contribute to the breath-freshening features of the ProBiora3 blend by inhibiting the growth of the periodontal pathogens. The decrease in these pathogens results in a substantial reduction in the volatile sulfur compounds associated with bad breath.
Unlike other whitening products, ProBiora3™ is completely safe for veneers, caps and dentures.
