Ten out of ten dentists agree that you should brush twice and floss once every day.
But what if you just didn't?
What would happen if you stopped doing any oral hygiene, and how long would it take for your mouth to get messy?
Let's start with the last day you do brush and floss.
This routine doesn't actually clean your mouth completely.
Rather, you're maintaining a delicate balance between hundreds of microbial species.
At any given time, most of these microorganisms fit into one of two groups: commensals and pathobionts.
High quantities of commensals are good for oral health.
They minimize inflammation, protect our mouths from harmful foreign microbes, and produce ammonia, which neutralizes tooth-decaying acids.
Meanwhile, an abundance of pathobionts is bad for oral health.
