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Is a Dog's Mouth Cleaner than a Human's?Find Out if a Dog’s Mouth is Cleaner or More Sterile
Is a human or dog's mouth cleaner? It's a great topic for a 4-H or science fair project. Read on for citable research resources, a list of supplies and where to buy them
“Is a dog’s mouth cleaner or more sterile than a human's?” It’s a common topic explored by students creating science fair projects and 4-H exhibits and it’s also a subject that randomly arises in conversations from time to time. But what’s the truth? “The truth is, it’s a matter of comparing apples and oranges in many respects. The bacteria in a dog’s mouth is different from the bacteria present in a human’s mouth. So when you’re dealing with different bacteria, it’s difficult to make this sort of comparison,” explained Dr. Michael Levine, DVM. It’s a difficult comparison to make due to the vast differences when it comes to the mouth’s function and differences in hygiene that exist between humans and canines. “Humans use the mouth and tongue very differently from a dog. A human isn’t apt to raid the cat’s litter box for a snack – dogs will eat and chew on just about anything, be it a stick, or an item from the trash, or a dirty tennis ball. And humans don’t use their tongues as 'hands,' nor do they use their tongues as a toilet paper, so to speak, so the potential exists for there to be vastly different forms of bacteria present in a dog’s mouth when compared to the human’s,” Dr. Levine explained. Despite these vast differences in the human and canine mouths, the question of which mouth is cleaner continues to be a popular topic for science fair projects among students worldwide. Dr. Levine, who has performed extensive research over the years in the area of veterinary medicine, added, “If you are planning to perform research on whether the dog or human mouth is cleaner, you’ll want to look at a few different things. How many bacteria colonies appear on the petrie dish for the human sample and the dog sample? How many different types of bacteria are present from each sample? When you examine samples under the microscope, do any of the colonies appear to be present on both the dog’s petrie dish and the human’s petrie dish? Those are the things you’ll want to examine.” To ensure consistency, similar regions of each mouth should be swabbed and then transferred to and grown on an agar petrie dish. “I recommend utilizing at least six or eight samples – three or four from each mouth - in all. Swab corresponding areas in each mouth for your comparison. You’ll find that there’s different types and concentrations of bacteria in different areas of the mouth, so you need to be sure to compare the human tongue swab to the dog tongue swab, and the canine gum line swab to the human gum line swab and so on…this is the sort of thing that makes for good scientific method, which is vital whenever you’re doing an experiment or school project,” Dr. Levine added. Does a Dog’s Saliva Have Antiseptic Properties?Many people believe that dog saliva has antiseptic properties that promote healing. And it’s a question that often arises when a student is researching the question of whether a human or a dog’s mouth is cleaner. “This is another question that I get from time to time and the consensus is that it’s not the dog’s saliva that promotes healing…it’s the act of licking a wound that is beneficial. The licking removes damaged tissue cells and it’s this that helps to promote healing,” Dr Levine said, adding, “That doesn’t mean you should leave your dog alone to lick his wound if he becomes injured. There’s a good chance he’ll end up with an infection. We’ve found that licking seems to be more beneficial in the case of wild canines, who have a much more robust immune system due to the fact that they don’t have the benefit of antibiotics and other medications, so their immune system develops stronger defenses.” Notably, the differences that exist between the canine mouth and the human mouth have led researchers to some interesting conclusions over the years. Scientists have found that a humans are more at risk of acquiring an illness if they come in oral contact with another human, and the same goes for dogs whose mouths come in contact with other canine mouths. Why? There are few illnesses and infections that can be transmitted between the two different species, so a human is much more likely to get ill or otherwise have adverse effects from contact with another human. So dog lovers can take comfort in knowing that a lick or kiss from their dog is not likely to cause any problems. Supplies for a Science Fair ProjectThere is an array of supplies that will be needed to perform a research project on the amount and types of bacteria present in the human and canine mouth. The following supplies are required:
Many students will also require citable information for their project. Consider visiting a local veterinarian to discuss your project. And visit websites that feature scientific research articles, such as PubMed. There are various sites online that can provide guidance, support and supplies to students who are researching the question of whether dogs or humans have the “cleaner” mouth: - Visit Science-Ideas.com for general guidance for this science fair project and helpful links to other resources. - Visit the National Center for Biotechnology Information site for citable scientific and life sciences articles for this and other projects via the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s free online databases, including PubMed.
The copyright of the article Is a Dog's Mouth Cleaner than a Human's? in Mammals is owned by Mia Carter. Permission to republish Is a Dog's Mouth Cleaner than a Human's? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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