February 18, 2025

How the oral microbiome is impacting our brain, heart, immunity and pregnancy and the key clinically-proven ways to prevent it with Rebecca Edwards

1 hour 12 minutes

In this enlightening episode we welcome back the highly esteemed Rebecca Edwards, Director of Education at Activated Probiotics, to dive into the emerging and critical topic of the oral microbiome.

The conversation covers the fundamental aspects of the oral microbiome, its significant links to brain health, Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular issues, pregnancy outcomes, immune health, and even COVID-19 predispositions.

Rebecca reveals the frightening realities of oral bacteria, including the pathways through which oral health can influence systemic conditions like Alzheimer's and rheumatoid arthritis.

The podcast also emphasises practical actions for maintaining oral hygiene, the role of diet and hydration, and the groundbreaking potential of oral probiotics.

Additionally, the episode provides a sneak peek into the upcoming Activated Probiotics Symposium, featuring a stellar lineup of speakers and groundbreaking topics aimed at shifting paradigms in healthcare.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

03:19 The importance of oral hygiene
03:51 Understanding the oral microbiome
06:45 The oral microbiome and public health
09:05 The rise of microbiome interest post-COVID
16:25 The oral microbiome's impact on brain health
24:43 The role of dental plaque and gum disease
29:49 Oral health and systemic diseases
35:34 Call to action for practitioners
38:19 The impact of COVID on healthcare
39:28 Oral health and genetic predispositions
41:29 The importance of dental care accessibility
42:48 Rethinking mouthwash and bacteria
45:26 Diet and oral microbiome
48:02 Cardiovascular health and oral hygiene
53:19 Probiotics for oral health
59:13 Practical tips for oral hygiene
01:03:04 Upcoming probiotic symposium

Tickets to Activated Probiotics Symposium here:

https://events.humanitix.com/activated-probiotics-symposium-2025

Activated Probiotics instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/activatedprobiotics/

References to the oral microbiome:

Kanagasingam S, von Ruhland C, Welbury R, Singhrao S K. Antimicrobial, polarizing light, and paired helical filament properties of fragmented tau peptides of selected putative gingipains. J Alzheimers Dis 2022; doi: 10.3233/JAD-220486.Kanagasingam S, von Ruhland C, Welbury R, Chukkapalli S S, Singhrao S K. Porphyromonas gingivalis conditioned medium induces amyloidogenic processing of the amyloid-β Protein precursor upon in vitro infection of SH-SY5Y cells. J Alzheimers Dis Rep 2022; doi: 10.3233/ADR-220029.Haditsch U, Roth T, Rodriguez L, Hancock S, Cecere T, Nguyen M, Arastu-Kapur S, Broce S, Raha D, Lynch CC, Holsinger LJ, Dominy SS, Ermini F. Alzheimer's Disease-Like Neurodegeneration in Porphyromonas gingivalis Infected Neurons with Persistent Expression of Active Gingipains. J Alzheimers Dis. 2020;75(4):1361-1376. doi: 10.3233/JAD-200393. PMID: 32390638; PMCID: PMC7369049.Stephen S. Dominy et al. ,Porphyromonas gingivalis in Alzheimer’s disease brains: Evidence for disease causation and treatment with small-molecule inhibitors.Sci. Adv.5,eaau3333(2019).DOI:10.1126/sciadv.aau3333The Oral-Gut-Brain AXIS: The Influence of Microbes in Alzheimer’s DiseaseNarengaowa1, Wei Kong1, Fei Lan1, Umer Farooq Awan2, Hong Qing1* and Junjun Ni1*

References to all 11 studies on Biome Breathe

Ranjith, A., Nazimudeen, N. Bin, & Baiju, K. V. (2022). Probiotic mouthwash as an adjunct to mechanical therapy in the treatment of stage II periodontitis: A randomized controlled clinical trial. International Journal of Dental Hygiene, 20(2), 415–421. https://doi.org/10.1111/idh.12589
Doppalapudi, R., Vundavalli, S., & Prabhat, M. (2020). Effect of probiotic bacteria on oral Candida in head‑ and neck‑radiotherapy patients: A randomized clinical trial. Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutics, 6(3), 470–477. https://doi.org/10.4103/jcrt.JCRT
Thakkar, P. K., Imranulla, M., Kumar, P. G. N., Prashant, G. M., Sakeenabi, B., & Sushanth, V. H. (2013). Effect of probiotic mouthrinse on dental plaque accumulation: A randomized controlled trial. Dentistry and Medical Research|, 1(1), 7–12.
Purunaik, S., Thippeswamy, H. M., & Chavan, S. S. (2014). To Evaluate the Effect of Probiotic Mouthrinse on Plaque and Gingivitis among 15-16 Year Old School Children of Mysore City, India- Randomized Controlled Trial. Global Journal of Medical Research, 14(4), 9–14.
Jothika, M., Vanajassun, Pp., & Someshwar, B. (2015). Effectiveness of probiotic, chlorhexidine and fluoride mouthwash against Streptococcus mutans - randomised, single-blind, in-vivo study. Journal of International Society of Preventive and Community Dentistry, 5(7), 44. https://doi.org/10.4103/2231-0762.156153
Jindal, G., Pandey, R. K., Agarwal, J., & Singh, M. (2011). A comparative evaluation of probiotics on salivary mutans streptococci counts in Indian children. European Archives of Paediatric Dentistry, 12(4), 211–215. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03262809
Manikandan, S., Behera, S., Karthikeyan, R., Niranjana, A., Bharathan, R., & Mohammed, O. B. (2020). Effect of green tea extract mouthrinse and probiotic mouthrinse on salivary pH in a group of schoolchildren: An in vivo study. Journal of Pharmacy And Bioallied Sciences, 12(5), 404. https://doi.org/10.4103/jpbs.JPBS_119_20
Jindal, V., Mahajan, N., Goel, A., Kaur, R., Mahajan, A., & Malhotra, P. (2017). Clinical efficacy of probiotic mouthwash in the treatment of gingivitis patients in Himachal population. Journal of the International Clinical Dental Research Organization, 9(1), 41. https://doi.org/10.4103/2231-0754.207386
Deshmukh, M. A., Dodamani, A. S., Karibasappa, G., Khairnar, M. R., Naik, R. G., & Jadhav, H. C. (2017). Comparative evaluation of the efficacy of probiotic, herbal and chlorhexidine mouthwash on gingival health: A randomized clinical trial. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 11(3), ZC13–ZC16. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2017/23891.9462
Sharma, P., Datta, G., Gandhi, K., & Kumar, D. (2019). A comparative evaluation of efficacy of probiotic and chlorhexidine mouthrinses on gingival health and plaque accumulation in 6-9 year old children. International Journal of Applied Dental Sciences, 5(1), 156–162. http://www.oraljournal.com/archives/2019/5/1/C/5-1-43
Doppalapudi, R., Vundavalli, S., & Prabhat, M. P. V. (2020). Effect of probiotic bacteria on oral Candida in head‑ and neck‑radiotherapy patients: A randomized clinical trial. Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutics, 16, 470–477. https://doi.org/10.4103/jcrt.JCRT

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By Jade Walker