When you learn that you have bacteria in your mouth, this may not only gross you out but also have you concerned about your oral health. However, much to your surprise, you will discover that there are certain types of bacteria that actually help improve your oral health. Should you take oral probiotics each day, here are five important benefits you’re sure to gain.

Prevents Bad Breath

If you’ve ever suffered from bad breath, you know that chewing all the gum in the world and rinsing with mouthwash multiple times a day won’t help as much as you would like. When you take oral probiotics daily, they can greatly reduce the chances you’ll have bad breath. Since these probiotics help boost the level of good bacteria in your mouth, the formation of bad bacteria in your mouth and throat will be reduced.

Prevents Forming of Plaque

Another great benefit of taking oral probiotics is that they play a key role in reducing the amount of plaque that can form on your teeth and gums. When bad bacteria is left unchecked inside your mouth, plaque formation can increase at a dramatic rate. However, oral probiotics encourage the growth of a good type of bacteria known as A12. This protein has been found to prevent the growth of Streptococcus mutants, which is the type of bacteria directly responsible for the growth of plaque. In addition to this benefit, A12 also moderates your plaque pH, keeps cavity pathogens from growing, and helps give your teeth a stable and healthy biofilm.

Helps Reduce or Manage Gingivitis

To keep your oral health at its best, you of course want to do everything possible to avoid getting gingivitis, which is the fancy name for gum disease. Probiotic tablets used as a dietary supplement can often help with this problem since they can prevent the formation of large amounts of unhealthy bacteria that may attack your teeth and gums. The less bad bacteria you have in your mouth, the less tartar and plaque you’ll have on your gums.

Should you already have gum disease, you may assume it is too late for oral probiotics to be effective. However, that is not the case at all. In fact, they can still make it much easier for you to manage your gingivitis. By taking oral probiotics on a daily basis, many studies have determined that gum disease patients have far less inflammation than those individuals who do not use oral probiotics as part of their treatment.

Prevention of Oral Cancer

While there are still many studies being conducted in this area, early results have given researchers reason to believe that using oral probiotics daily may help in preventing you from developing oral cancer. Focusing on the good bacteria Lactobacillus salivarius that is commonly found in oral probiotics, researchers have determined this bacteria helps reduce oral cancer in lab rats. Though there is currently only a limited amount of data regarding humans, the early effects look very promising.

Preventing Oral Thrush

If you are wondering what oral thrush is, you are probably not alone. When you have oral thrush, this means your tongue will develop numerous white spots all over it. While it is not necessarily a serious condition, it is nevertheless one you would prefer to see go away as fast as possible. As to why it occurs, you can blame it on an overgrowth of fungi known as Candida. To prevent oral thrush from occurring or to help it disappear if you already have a white-spotted tongue, your dentist will likely recommend you take a daily dose of oral probiotics. After doing so for a period of time, you should be able to stick out your tongue and have it look just like everyone else’s.

Keep Your Mouth Healthy

Now that you know just how important oral probiotics can be to helping your teeth and gums remain healthy, it may be a good idea to incorporate these into your daily routine. Along with taking probiotics in tablet form, you can also use dietary sources of probiotics such as yogurt, sauerkraut, and probiotic milk to keep your mouth in great shape. Once you take these steps, you can have fresh breath, healthy teeth and gums, and peace of mind.