Hello,
I am Porphyromonas gingivalis. I am commonly found lurking
in the human body and particularly like to make your mouth into
a nice little home for myself. It's warm and moist, and there
is plenty of yummy food there for me to feast on.
Your mouth is prime real estate, with plenty of room in here for everyone. Between 1000 and 1 billion bacteria live on each tooth and my kind likes it so much that 5% of the bacteria in your mouth is Porphyromonas gingivalis.
I don't like oxygen, so hide in your gums. This does mean that you might end up with Gingivitis, tooth decay and stinky breath, but what the hell: bad breath doesn't bother me. Of course, I cannot take all the credit for halitosis - other bacteria like to get in on the act too. The nasty smell is caused by various chemicals that we all produce as we go about our daily lives. For example, Methyl mercaptan is one of my favorites and smells a lot like feces. Yup, your breath could start to smell like poo if I get too active in your mouth. Other stinky chemicals include hydrogen sulphide, that smells like rotten eggs; Dimethyl sulphide, which smells like cabbage; Cadaverine, found in corpses; and Putrescine, which smells like decaying flesh. Lovely.
Don't brush your teeth too well or use mouth wash folks - my friends and I don't enjoy getting scrubbed and spat down the sink too much.
