Trade-In Your Bad Bacteria

Dr. Jeffrey Hillman, a University of Florida College of Dentistry researcher,  believes he's discovered the answer to tooth decay. It's not a superduper toothpaste or even bacteria-killing mouthwash that he has discovered.

It's actual bacteria, which he says can be applied to teeth in a one-time treatment that would offer a lifetime of protection.

This is another application of PROBIOTICS – the use of helpful bacteria to control harmful germs.

Hillman, a professor of oral biology at the University Of Florida College Of Dentistry, discovered in 1976 a mutant strain of Streptococcus Mutans, the problem bacteria that turn sugar into tooth-rotting lactic acid. Hillman's bacteria don’t produce the acid, so the idea is you'd replace your cavity-causing strain of bacteria with his helpful probiotic kind.   The healthy bacteria would continue to be resident in your mouth and crowd out the their harmful cousins.