Here’s some bad news for the estimated 20 million people in the U.S. who wear full or partial dentures: There’s a good chance your choppers are covered with thin layers of icky, sticky bacteria known as biofilms.

Worse, some of the biofilm germs may be bad bugs such as MRSA, or drug-resistant staphylococcus aureus bacteria, which can lurk on the dentures until they’re breathed into the lungs, where experts fear they may cause nasty, hard-to-treat infections.

snip

Concern about biofilms on dentures is growing as researchers continue to identify links between oral bacteria and heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, and respiratory diseases, including aspiration pneumonia.

The idea, experts say, is that bacteria form self-sustaining microbial communities bound together by a kind of polymer matrix that adheres tightly to surfaces. The biofilms are much more difficult to remove than single bugs. The dentures act as kind of a reservoir for the biofilms, allowing bacteria within them to multiply and thrive.

“Bacteria and yeast can embed themselves in the porous material,” of the acrylic dentures, said Vickers, who is also the public relations and communications director for the American College of Prosthodontists.

When people get cuts or lesions in their mouths, the bacteria from the biofilms can migrate into those tiny wounds, leading to systemic illness.

snip


Read more here: http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/05/10988431-dirty-dentures-dangerous-mrsa-may-be-lurking-dentists-say