Could bacteria in your mouth predict if you risk dementia? Emerging research suggests that bacteria living on your language and your gums can affect the functioning of the brain and how it changes as we age. In turn, it could affect whether a person is normally aging or develops dementia.
Scientists discover surprising links between the oral microbiome, which is the animated ecosystem of bacteria in our mouths and brain health. A new study My colleagues and I suggest that certain bacteria can help memory and reflection, while others may be signs of early alert of a decrease in brain function.
This raises the possibility that the diet and the treatments that modify our oral bacteria could one day play a role by helping to preserve the health of the brain as we age.
For our survey, we have analyzed saliva samples of 115 adults over 50. Among these people, 52% had a healthy brain function and the 48% others had early signs of decline in memory and other brain functions.
We have examined bacteria in these samples and shown that people who had a large number of two groups of bacteria called Neisseria And Haemophilus has worked better in brain health tests. In particular, people with these bacteria had a better memory and better ability to pay attention and perform complex tasks.
These people also had higher levels of ionic nitrite in the mouth. Nitrite is made by bacteria when they break down nitrate, which is naturally part of a diet rich in vegetables.
Bacteria can also decompose nitrite to produce nitric oxide, which improves circulation, including blood flow to the brain. This suggests that eating a lot of vegetables rich in nitrate, such as spinach and green leaves, could increase the levels of healthy bacteria and help improve brain health, which could be particularly important as people age .
We are now studying whether the beet juice rich in nitrate can improve brain function in the elderly by diverting bacteria in the mouth.
Jeffrey Blackler / Alamy Photo
On the other hand, another group of bacteria can cause more harm than good. Our study revealed that two groups of bacteria potentially linked to good brain health.
A group called PorphyromonasWho is often associated with gum disease, was more common in people with memory problems than healthy people.
A second group called Prevotella was linked to a low nitrite, which could in turn mean lower brain health. Prevotella was also more frequent in people who carry the APOE4 gene, which is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s.
These results suggest that certain bacteria could play a detrimental role in changes in brain health as people age. This also raises the question of whether routine tests to measure the levels of these bacteria could be used to detect very early signs of the health of the brain in the context of dental examinations in the future.
Deep implications
The implications of this research are deep. While some bacteria support brain health while others contribute downwards, treatments to change the balance of bacteria in the mouth could be part of a solution to prevent dementia.
Encourage the growth of nitrite producing bacteria as Neisseriawhile reducing Prevotella And Porphyromonascould help maintain brain function as we age. This could be achieved by food changes, probiotics, oral hygiene routines or even targeted treatments that reshape the microbiome.
Although we are still in the first stages of understanding the complex links between oral bacteria and the brain, our results provide a strong justification for new research.
If future studies confirm that the oral microbiome plays a role in maintaining a healthy brain, then by giving more attention to bacteria in our mouths, we can unlock new detection possibilities and potentially dementia delay.
In the meantime, the best advice is to keep your teeth clean, see the dentist regularly and eat foods with a lot of nitrate, like green leafy vegetables, to continue to feed good bacteria in the mouth.