Looking after your mouth isn’t just about preventing tooth decay. ‘The oral cavity has the second-largest microbiota after the gut,’ says dental expert Professor Liz Kay, president of the Oral Health Foundation. It’s home to more than 700 species of bacteria and, as well as being the starting point for our digestive system, it’s crucial for maintaining not just good oral health but overall wellbeing too.
The type of bacteria you have in your mouth could be responsible for lung cancer if you’re a non-smoker, according to a last year. And it could even make gut inflammation and inflammatory gut disease worse, says a study from the University of Michigan.
