80 million bacteria are carried through the kiss

The human ecosystem is home to 100 billion microorganisms, both outside and inside the body. Humans are not aware of them, but these organisms help to digest and protect themselves against sickness. Without them, they would hardly survive.

The mouth is a hearth of some 700 different types of bacteria, while Dutch researchers from a research organization there have decided to investigate what happens to them during the kiss. The results were published in “Micobioome”.

They worked with 21 couples who first had to fill out a questionnaire about how often they kissed each day and how long their kiss lasted. Then they took samples from their mouths and tongues to determine what kinds of microbes live in them.

They concluded that couples who kissed quite often and long enough, which means an average of nine times a day, eventually have a very similar community of germs in their mouth.

Researchers also calculated how much germs change their <x0-hybetatin” during their French kiss. A couple member had previously drunk probiotic beverages, which contains bacteria that are easily identified. They concluded that 80 million bacteria are transferred during the ten-sensual kiss.

For those who want to know more, bacteria from saliva more easily “travel”, while those in the language seem to be more stable.

Although an estimated 80 million bacteria sound frightening, this is actually a good thing, because it's about a type of “vaxin” and immune resistance structure to exposure to different microorganisms.

From this perspective, the kiss is very healthy”, Dutch Professor Remco Court said.