What kinds of bacteria cause bad breath?

Dr. Mel Rosenberg

20.03.08, 11:24

Previously it was thought that bad breath was exclusively the result of breakdown of proteins and (subsequently) amino acids by Gram negative bacteria. Indeed most proteolytic species in the mouth are Gram negative, and they produce a lot of vile volatile compounds when grown in the laboratory. A list is below. However, research in our laboratory conducted by Dr. Nir Sterer has shown that Gram positive bacteria such as Streptococcus sanguis may also play a role. These bacteria thrive on glycolysis, that is they break down sugars. Some strains of S. sanguis are adept at clipping the sugar residues off the glycoproteins that are abundant in the mouth. Once their glycosidic enzymes (such as beta-galactosidase) have done this job, the 'naked' proteins become much more readily digestible by the gram-negative proteases. Indeed the presence of beta-galactosidase in saliva correlates with bad breath. Recent studies have shown that another Gram positive bacterium, Solobacterium moorei, is also correlated with bad breath. This new theory may explain why people on antibiotics targeted against gram positive microorganisms experience a relief (of several weeks) from bad breath. 

 

The literature refers to certain bacteria that are correlated with bad breath:

  • Porphyromonas gingivalis (Kleinberg and Codipilly; Loesche and de Boever; Persson et al., 1990)
  • Fusobacterium nucleatum (Kleinberg and Codipilly; Persson et al., 1990 Niles and Gaffar)
  • Stomatococcus muci
  • Prevotella intermedia (Kleinberg and Codipilly)
  • Porphyromonas endodontalis (Loesche and de Boever)
  • Prevotella loescheii (Loesche and de Boever; Persson et al., 1990)
  • Hemophilus parainfluenzae (?) (Kleinberg and Codipilly)
  • Veillonella species (Kleinberg and Codipilly; Niles and Gaffar)
  • Peptostreptococcus anaerobius (Persson et al., 1990)
  • Eubacterium limosum (Persson et al., 1990);
  • Micros prevotii (Persson et al., 1990);
  • Treponema denticola (Persson et al., 1990; Chan; Loesche and de Boever)
  • Centipeda periodontii (Persson et al., 1990);
  • Eubacterium species (Persson et al., 1990);
  • Selemonad aremidis (Persson et al., 1990);
  • Bacteriodes species (Persson et al., 1990);
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae (Niles and Gaffar; Goldberg et al.)
  • Prevotella melaninogenica (Niles and Gaffar)
  • Citrobacter species (Goldberg et al.)
  • Fusobacterium periodonticum (Persson et al., 1990)
  • Enterobacter cloacae (Niles and Gaffar)
  • Stomatococcus mucilaginus (J. Greenman, M.A. El-Maaytah, M.G. Hartley and S. McAloon; Proteolytic activity of Stomatococcus mucilaginus; abstract presented at 2nd International Workshop on Oral Malodor, Leuven, Belgium, Oct. 19th-20th, 1995)
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