Bad breath can be a persistent and difficult condition to treat. If you suffer from bad breath, oral probiotics may be the natural solution you have been looking for.

If you are constantly embarrassed by bad breath, you have probably tried every remedy in the book. But, sadly mouthwashes and tic-tacs aren’t going to cut it for you. The truth is, mouthwash and breath freshening products like mints or gum are only temporarily masking the problem—they aren’t dealing with the cause.

Problems with bad breath may be due to an imbalance in your oral microbiome which can cause odor-producing bacteria in the mouth. Oral probiotics help restore this balance attacking the root of the problem and leaving you with fresh breath.

What is an Oral Microbiome Imbalance?

There has been a lot of talk about the gut microbiome, but your oral microbiome is equally important and has a significant impact on your overall health. Your mouth is home to millions of bacteria both good and bad. This bacteria makes up your oral microbiome.

When the good and bad bacteria are balanced, the good bacteria in your mouth help keep your teeth and gums healthy in multiple ways. They manage your mouth’s immune response, they are responsible for digestion and acidity in the mouth, and they take care of the mineral balance of your teeth.

However, when there are more of the bad bacteria than there are the good, this balance is thrown off which can cause problems for the entire body. Oral probiotics are the good guys. They are live microorganisms that help restore and maintain the balance.

So, what causes this imbalance in the first place?

Your mouth is a harsh environment for bacteria to live. When you are concerned with taking care of your oral microbiome, it can remain in balance. But, things like taking antibiotics, eating sugary or processed foods, smoking, or not keeping up with oral hygiene, can easily throw this delicate balance off.

Once the good bacteria is weakened, the harmful bacteria can begin to take over. Once this bad bacteria has taken out most of the good bacteria, and now rules over the oral microbiome, problems like bad breath begin to occur.

How Bacteria Can Cause Bad Breath

Almost 90% of bad breath cases are due to the overgrowth of odor-causing bacteria in the mouth. These harmful oral bacteria produce volatile sulfur compounds which are smelly substances that cause bad breath.

Your good bacteria tries its best to keep your mouth healthy. But, when the harmful bacteria is allowed to take over, they can no longer provide as many benefits. Once the bad bacteria starts growing, it quickly takes over and invades your gums and tongue, as well as causing crucial changes to your plaque.

This spread of harmful bacteria causes an increase in gingival fluid to the gum pocket which the bad bacteria feed on. When they metabolize these proteins, they produce volatile sulfur compounds, and the bad breath begins.

The harmful bacteria also cause an increase in pH in the gum pocket, reducing its oxygen levels. Low oxygen creates the perfect environment for even more bad bacteria. They thrive on the absence of oxygen and continue to grow as more pockets form, and the oxygen levels in the pockets continue to drop.

Once there are several diseased pockets, the imbalance is in full swing and so is bad breath.

Oral Probiotics for Bad Breath

Combating this situation takes more than gum or mouthwash. You need to fight the root problem. You need oral probiotics. Taking oral probiotics is a healthy and natural remedy to cure bad breath.

Probiotics for oral health will replenish the good bacteria that have been killed off. This will restore the balance of your oral microbiome. Oral probiotics will also help maintain the balance acting as a long-term bad breath treatment.

There are a few ways oral probiotics help treat and prevent bad breath:

• They grow and survive in and amongst your oral tissues fighting off and preventing harmful bacteria from growing.
• They release antibacterial substances that will kill the harmful bacteria that do grow.
• They work with the immune system to help produce the correct response.

There are many different types of bacteria, all with unique benefits. One of the best oral probiotics to look for is Lactobacillus salivarius. This bacteria strain is a part of the lactic acid releasing family and lives in the GI tract. While it does not live in the mouth, it provides many digestive benefits and has a positive effect on the immune system. It also has been found to help fight bad breath.

Other strains of oral probiotics for bad breath include:

• S. salivarius K12 (BLIS K12)
• S. salivarius M18
• W. cibaria

Do Oral Probiotics Cure Bad Breath?

In order to cure bad breath, you don’t just need to kill harmful bacteria, you need to replenish the good bacteria. Research has shown that oral health probiotics can help replenish the good bacteria restoring the balance of your oral microbiome and ultimately helping to cure bad breath.

In one study, the research suggested that S. salivarius K12 oral probiotic lozenges are even more effective than mouthwash. Not to mention the long-term effects oral probiotics have instead of just masking the problem as mints and mouthwash do.

Oral probiotics have many other benefits for your oral health as well. Other oral probiotics benefits include:

• Prevents plaque buildup
• Reduces gingivitis
• Combats candida overgrowth which is related to oral thrush
• Prevents tooth decay

Your oral health can have a significant impact on your entire body. It is essential to do what you can to maintain excellent oral care. If you suffer from bad breath, or you want to up your oral hygiene game and prevent or treat serious oral health problems, talk to your dentist about probiotics.

Our probiotics contain Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains that can impact not only your oral health but will also work together to provide many other benefits for your digestive tract, immune health, and more. Take a look at our products or our other articles to learn more about the benefits of probiotics for the entire body.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products discussed are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.