Mouth Bacteria

Your face is the mirror of your health. Sometimes the condition of your mouth can give you clues regarding your overall health. Maintenance of a good oral hygiene is very necessary during today's hectic lifestyles. You will be surprised to know that your body's well being lies entirely on the health of your mouth. Mouth bacteria can cause several oral ailments, including bad breath and infections.

From your mouth, you can observe various symptoms that can help you identify health problems that can indicate the first signs of a chronic disease. There are many mouth related disease such as gum disease which is caused by a mouth bacteria. People can avoid these bacteria if they maintain good oral health such as daily brushing and flossing. However, this is sometimes not sufficient because harmful bacteria can grow out of control and they can lead to infection or any serious disease. Saliva is a key to fight against bacteria and viruses because it contains enzymes that can fight against mouth bacteria different ways.


When your mouth is healthy, bacteria usually never enters into bloodstream, otherwise it can cause serious diseases. Sometime due to invasive treatments, it may allow bacteria to enter into your bloodstream. There are many reasons such as reduce saliva-flow or disruptions of normal balance of bacteria in your mouth may encourage bacteria to enter into bloodstream. It is believed that these bacteria from your mouth are linked to several health related problems with your body.

There are more than 100 species of bacteria along with hundred species of fungi, protozoa and viruses that can cause mouth related diseases. Additionally there are more than 500 other living, breathing microorganisms inhabiting in our mouths out of which only 50 have been identified and named.

The most harmful mouth bacteria inhabiting in our mouth is streptococcus mutant strain, which is a cavity causing bacteria. It was initially thought to be a harmless bacterium, but later it was found to be harmful for mouth. The source of this bacterium is sugar; it thrives upon refined sugar and as a part of its digestive process that converts sugar into acid.

There are many harmful affects of bacteria such as it can decay our tooth. That is why people should brush their teeth after eating and avoid too many sweets. It is also recommended by dentists, that people should not open their mouth very now and then; this is the best way that they will avoid bacteria into their body, most of the time these harmful mouth bacteria either kill by mouth enzymes or stomach acids.

Some bacteria can be helpful and they can destroy harmful mouth bacteria without causing any harm to your body.

There are many kinds of bacteria in out mouth. The most common kind of bacteria are called as normal flora and they can be streptococcus salivarious, streptococcus mutants and actinomyces which are the common types of bacteria found in the human mouth. Some bacteria require in oxygen and some bacteria do not require oxygen to grow. The bacterium is a kind of mouth bacteria that thrives on nutrients obtained from human food. Another example of mouth bacteria is an anaerobic actinomyces that requires oxygen to grow and it probably gets it from mouth. Visit your dentist to know about the latest trends in dealing with mouth bacteria.

Harmful Bacteria

Harmful bacteria are those bacteria that may harm your body and immune system making you sick. The very common cause of the food borne illness in human beings is said to be due to the harmful bacteria. Bacteria are there on the food at the time you buy them. Raw foods, as they are not sterile are the very common source of food borne illnesses. When cooked food is left for about more than 2 hours allows the bacteria to multiply very fast.

Disease causing bacteria are referred to as pathogenic bacteria. These pathogenic bacteria can attack human beings, plants and animals. Thus the disease caused by such bacteria are very worst causing toothache, food poisoning, anthrax and some forms of cancer, as well. The harmful bacteria like septicemia, tetanus, pneumonia, impetigo, tonsillitis, earaches, step throat also causes a number of other diseases, etc.

There are some harmful bacteria that may even prove to be life threatening. For instance, the Legionella pnuemoniae that causes the Legionnaire's disease. The bacteria, Vibrio cholerae is the cause of cholera. This harmful bacterium needs moist places like hot-water piper or air conditioners for their survival.

Many different types of harmful bacteria lead to food poisoning. Some of these harmful bacteria are:

* Clostridium perfringes- it is found in poultry, raw milk, eggs, vegetables that come in direct contact with the soil and unpasteurized dairy products. Infections happen when gravies, soups or stews are prepared with meat, poultry or fish that are not stored properly or unrefrigerated for a long time.

* Salmonella and Campylobacter- they are generally found in warm blooded animals like poultry animals, cattle and swine. The bacterial organisms are found in poultry, eggs, raw meat and unpasteurized dairy products.

* Campylobacteriosis- this is a bacterial infection of the digestive tract that is caused by bacteria called Campylobacter. These organisms are present in food and water that are contaminated by the pets.

* Listeriosis- this is again a bacterial infection that is caused by consuming contaminated food. The bacterium that causes this infection is called Listeria monocytogenes. This harmful bacterium is present in the soil, dairy products, soft cheese, and unpasteurized milk.

Harmful microorganisms are present in raw milk that can cause serious health problems in your family. The unpasteurized milk of the sheep, cow or goat carry harmful bacteria's with them like the E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria. Pasteurization is a process of killing the harmful bacteria present in the milk. This is done by heating the milk upto a specific temperature and then storing it in the refrigerator.

The harmful bacteria leads to a number of food borne illness that may cause vomiting, diarrhea, flu, abdominal pain, headaches and body aches.

You might have aloes seen the warning on many products that "this product is not pasteurized and it may contain harmful bacteria. If you cannot determine that the product you are using is pasteurized or not for destroying the harmful bacteria, better way either avoid using it or boil it for killing the harmful bacteria, if any present.

Salmonella Bacteria

Salmonella is a gram-negative rod shaped bacteria, which are responsible for many diseases such as diarrhea and other illnesses. They are microscopic organism, which can be seen only from microscopes. The main carriers of these bacteria are animals whose meat which we consume in our daily meals.

There are two types of Salmonella bacteria, enteritis Salmonella and typhimurium Salmonella they are most common causes of infections in humans for instance these infection cases are most frequent in United States.

The most important thing about this bacterium is that it spreads from human food, which does change the taste, smell or appearance of the food so it is difficult to identify. It is also important to notice that it does not show any symptoms in animals can make people sick and voice a versa. Salmonella bacteria live in the intestinal tracts of host animals and humans.

Other Sources of Salmonella bacteria are food juices, raw meat and poultry products; also, some ready-made food such as salads can be source of Salmonella bacteria

Additionally there are other sources of Salmonella bacteria, for instance people are infected if they eat food from unwashed hands. Pets can be one of the sources of Salmonella bacteria. Therefore, people should wash their hand to not being infected from Salmonella bacteria.

Salmonella bacteria is a major cause of food poisoning , so in order to avoid food related disease people have to adopt comprehensive approaches towards food safety. Farmers, food inspectors, food service workers industry and retailers are the part of food safety chain.

When people are suffering from diseases like diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever after eight to seventy two hours of food then it will most likely they may be suffering from Salmonella bacteria infection. Some additional symptoms of infections that people experience are chills headache, nausea or vomiting. Some people may recover within 4 to seven days without any medical help but these infections can be life threatening for young people. People who are suffering from immune system diseases such as AIDS or cancer, diabetes, kidney diseases and transplant patients are most likely to get serious treats from Salmonella bacteria infection.

There are many safety measurements, we can take to spare your food from bacterial infections; for instance, people can prevent the bacteria from growing to high levels and destroy by always cooking at safe temperatures. There are many guidelines to prevent from Salmonella bacteria such as people should wash their hands with warm water for 20 seconds before or after taking food. They should always wash their hands after changing their babies' diapers and after handling their pets in order to maintain hygiene.

People should wash their utensils, dishes with hot water after preparing food item. They should wash their towels and kitchen surfaces in order to get rid from Salmonella bacteria infections. People should separate raw items and they should keep in cool and dry environment. People should not used raw food plates to place cooked food poultry or seafood. Use refrigerator to keep your food away from bacterial infection. Use cutting board for meat products and separate one for other products.

Types of Bacteria

There are different types of bacteria that can be divided into harmful bacteria and helpful bacteria. Some helpful bacteria are as follows;

Fermentation is necessary to taste cheese or yogurt. Helpful bacteria like brevibacterium give carbon dioxide during the process of fermentation. Helpful bacteria are responsible for the complexity and acidity in beer.

Pseudomonas Syringae is a type of bacterium found in leaves and grass and produces protein for frost formation. Now the protein from this type of bacterium is sold in a brand name to enhance the formation of snow.

Caulobacter Crescentus is another helpful bacterium which has long sticky sugar molecules. They are better than glues and therefore natural and non toxic adhesive are made from these bacteria.

There are billion types of bacteria around us. Most of them are helpful bacteria and they are very important for our survival. Yet there are some few harmful bacteria that cause diseases.

Harmful types of bacteria are as follows;
Streptococcus bacteria are one of the harmful bacteria that may cause disease in human and animals particularly mammals. They cause some small infections like strep throat and some dreadful diseases like pneumonia. Some harmful streptococci may even cause death. These bacteria are highly contagious and can spread easily through air.

Group A and B bacteria are more harmful streptococcus bacteria than any other bacteria strain. They may cause scarlet fever, rheumatic fever etc. They may also cause problems in female reproductive system. However they are controllable through vaccines and antibiotics.

Yet there are some harmful bacteria ha may cause gum bleeding and other teeth problems. As they progress rapidly, steps must be taken to prevent them in the early stage itself. However there are some harmful bacteria that are highly resistant to drugs.

Bacteria can be classified into 3 types based on the shape. The rod shaped bacteria, Sphere shaped bacteria and Spiral bacteria are the three types of bacteria. There are some bacteria that are in different shapes and so it is difficult to classify tem according to shape.

Some bacteria require oxygen for their survival while others do not. On the basis of oxygen requirement they are classified as aerobic and anaerobic bacteria.


On the basis of Gram staining method bacteria are classified into two types. They are Gram positive bacteria and Gram negative bacteria. Bacteria are also classified according to their growth and reproduction. Such classification includes Autotrophic bacteria and heterotrophic bacteria. Autotrophic bacteria take the required carbon from carbon dioxide by itself. Some types of autotrophs will use sunlight to transform carbon dioxide to sugar. While heterotrophic bacteria will take sugar or carbon from the environment they live.

Scientists have classified various types of bacteria according to the phyla. Each phylum then again corresponds to various species of bacteria. The bacteria can be classified according o the environment they live also. Sweet water bacteria, ocean water bacteria are some of the types of bacteria classified according to their environment. Some types of bacteria can survive in extremely hot or cold temperature.