{"id":28353,"date":"2025-12-05T12:00:03","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T18:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/?p=28353"},"modified":"2025-11-26T09:44:48","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T15:44:48","slug":"throwback-build-the-microscopic-army-in-your-mouth-to-fight-oral-cancer-and-improve-dental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/2025\/12\/05\/throwback-build-the-microscopic-army-in-your-mouth-to-fight-oral-cancer-and-improve-dental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Throwback: Build the Microscopic Army in Your Mouth to Fight Oral Cancer and Improve Dental Health"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/healthfirstconsulting.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-15955\" src=\"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/HealthFirstConsultingLLC-Logo-2017L.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"111\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/HealthFirstConsultingLLC-Logo-2017L.png 2250w, https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/HealthFirstConsultingLLC-Logo-2017L-300x50.png 300w, https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/HealthFirstConsultingLLC-Logo-2017L-1024x172.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/HealthFirstConsultingLLC-Logo-2017L-768x129.png 768w, https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/HealthFirstConsultingLLC-Logo-2017L-1536x257.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/HealthFirstConsultingLLC-Logo-2017L-2048x343.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Oral Cancer Is No Match for a Healthy Oral Microbiome<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fostering a healthy <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/healthfirstconsulting.com\/uncategorized\/episode-3-the-oral-microbiome\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">oral microbiome<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can fight oral and other cancers. That\u2019s nothing to say for its benefits on cavities, root canal infections, and gum disease. Your friendly bacteria protect you from disease, fight tumors, cool off inflammation, and boost your immune system.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Who wouldn\u2019t want this army of microscopic warriors on their side?!<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this two-part blog, you will learn that cancers can be caused by bacteria, viruses, and fungi. One of the best defenses against oral cancers (and other cancers) is a healthy and strong oral microbiome.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What is Oral Cancer?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You or someone you know may have had oral cancer. Or maybe mouth and throat cancer aren\u2019t really on your radar. However, oral cancers affect many people. In the United States alone, 145 people are diagnosed with oral cancer every day. Each hour someone dies from oral cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oral cancer includes:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mouth cancer (including the lips)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tongue cancer<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tonsil cancer<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Throat cancer<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/mouth-cancer\/symptoms-causes\/syc-20350997?utm_source=Google&amp;utm_medium=abstract&amp;utm_content=Oral-cancer&amp;utm_campaign=Knowledge-panel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oral cancer symptoms<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mouth sore that doesn\u2019t heal<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A lump or growth<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A white or red patch on the inside of the mouth<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Loose teeth<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mouth pain<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ear pain<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Painful or difficult swallowing<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Heal-Your-Oral-Microbiome-Inflammation\/dp\/1612439004\/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1QC4NJP2GAELK&amp;dchild=1&amp;keywords=heal+your+oral+microbiome+book&amp;qid=1618940180&amp;sprefix=heal+your+oral%2Caps%2C165&amp;sr=8-3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-6016 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/HYOM-Cover_Small-194x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"194\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/HYOM-Cover_Small-194x300.jpg 194w, https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/HYOM-Cover_Small.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/><\/a>The known causes of oral cancer are <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/oralcancerfoundation.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tobacco use, heavy drinking<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and infection with HPV. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/oralcancerfoundation.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">HPV-16 (human papillomavirus version 16<\/span><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">among others, are a common sexually transmitted virus; the same one that can cause cervical cancer in women. Poor oral hygiene is another top risk factor for oral cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Treatments for oral cancer include surgery and radiation. Occasionally chemotherapy is used to treat oral cancer. Finding it early is the key to a good outcome: 80-90% of people will survive. Unfortunately, most cases are found very late. That leads to a high death rate of 43% in the five years following diagnosis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>An Imbalanced Microbiome Can Cause Cancer<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How often do you hear about cancer being caused by a microorganism? Not too often. Yet 15.4% of cancers are believed to be caused by microorganisms. (<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> And it might be more. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Helicobacter pylori<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the bacterium that causes ulcers and gastric cancer put microbial causes of cancer back on the map. The link was ever more clear when <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">H. pylori<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was classified as a carcinogen by the World Health Organization. (<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Viruses can cause cancer, such as HPV, mentioned above. And many bacteria have been implicated in cancers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>If microbes can cause cancer, then a strong microbial defense is your best protection. Enter the oral microbiome.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The oral microbiome is made up of all the microorganisms in your mouth including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and bacteriophages, as well as their genetic material. Most of these organisms do no harm and even protect or benefit your health. A small percentage can harm you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your oral microbiome is strong and healthy, then harmful bacteria, viruses, or fungi can\u2019t hurt you. However, if the oral microbiome is weak, then bad microbes can rise to power and take over. They can cause oral dysbiosis and cancer. For example, HPV is necessary to cause certain cancers. However, only 0.3 \u2013 1.3% of HPV infections turn into cancer. The body seems to clear the other 98%. Scientists believe that a healthy microbiome may prevent HPV from causing cancer, while an unhealthy microbiome might make it worse. (<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>References<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Zhao H, Chu M, Huang Z, et al. Variations in oral microbiota associated with oral cancer. Scientific reports. 2017;7(1):11773.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vyshenska D, Lam KC, Shulzhenko N, Morgun A. Interplay between viruses and bacterial microbiota in cancer development. Semin Immunol. 2017;32:14-24.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/get-started\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-28177 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/OralDNA_Banners-2-1024x293.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"215\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/OralDNA_Banners-2-1024x293.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/OralDNA_Banners-2-300x86.png 300w, https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/OralDNA_Banners-2-768x219.png 768w, https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/OralDNA_Banners-2-1536x439.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/OralDNA_Banners-2-2048x585.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We hope you enjoyed the throwback blog. This blog originally posted April 30th, 2021<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oral Cancer Is No Match for a Healthy Oral Microbiome Fostering a healthy oral microbiome can fight oral and other cancers. That\u2019s nothing to say for its benefits on cavities, root canal infections, and gum disease. Your friendly bacteria protect you from disease, fight tumors, cool off inflammation, and boost your immune system. Who wouldn\u2019t <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/2025\/12\/05\/throwback-build-the-microscopic-army-in-your-mouth-to-fight-oral-cancer-and-improve-dental-health\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":28362,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[149,58,182],"tags":[168,7,81,82,83,264,254,147,263],"class_list":["post-28353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oral-cancer","category-oral-hpv","category-throwback","tag-cancer","tag-hpv","tag-hpv-dna-test","tag-hpv-head-and-neck-cancer","tag-hpv-oropharyngeal-cancer","tag-hpv-testing","tag-oral-cancer","tag-oral-microbiome","tag-throat-cancer"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Cass-Nelson-Dooley_Featured-Image.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7W16z-7nj","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28353"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28353"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28382,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28353\/revisions\/28382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}