As many as 80 million bacteria are transferred during a 10-second kiss, says a new study, adding that at least nine intimate kisses per day could lead to couples sharing similar communities of oral bacteria.
“Intimate kissing involving full tongue contact and saliva exchange appears to be a courtship behaviour unique to humans. We wanted to find out the extent to which partners share their oral microbiota. It turns out that the more a couple kiss, the more similar they are,” said lead study author Remco Kort from the Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) in the Netherlands.
Along with researchers from Micropia – the world’s first museum on microbes – in Amsterdam, Kort studied 21 couples, asking them to fill out questionnaires on their kissing behaviour including their average intimate kiss frequency.
In a controlled kissing experiment to quantify the transfer of bacteria, a member of each of the couples had a probiotic drink containing specific varieties of bacteria.
After an intimate kiss, researchers found that the quantity of probiotic bacteria in the receiver’s saliva rose threefold.
They calculated that in total, 80 million bacteria would have been transferred during a 10-second kiss.
“The results show that when couples intimately kiss at relatively high frequencies, their salivary microbiota become similar,” Kort added.
On an average, it was found that partners who kissed each other at least nine times a day shared similar communities of oral bacteria.
The study also suggests an important role for other mechanisms that select oral microbiota, resulting from a shared lifestyle, dietary and personal care habits.
The ecosystem of more than 100 trillion microorganisms that live in our bodies – the microbiome – is essential for the digestion of food, synthesizing nutrients, and preventing disease.
It is shaped by genetics, diet, and age, but also the individuals with whom we interact.
With the mouth playing host to more than 700 varieties of bacteria, the oral microbiota also appear to be influenced by those closest to us.
A 10-Sec Kiss Could Transfer 80 Million Bacteria added by on
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Informative i dnt kiss any one except my sweetie wife once per wk but deep kiss
Whom are u trying to discourage ukulya imilomo shakwa Coloured Teti never
this is actually goodnews ,so that i reduce my concetration after the exchange ,. Chikanda iwama, cant stop ma shine
I love deep kiss..
This article cannot discourage anyone from kissing unless those who hate kisses.
but they did not also talk about us with more partners to slaughter.
@atase boi coloured nizeee..i dream of having one 1
Nomba how are we going to be expressing our feelings physically kanshi no sex and no kisses. Yaba elyo yashupa nomba
Sikiza Reply
November 18, 2014 at 7:35 pm
Informative i dnt kiss any one except my sweetie wife once per wk but deep kiss
Atase Reply
November 18, 2014 at 8:30 pm
Whom are u trying to discourage ukulya imilomo shakwa Coloured Teti never
lelolelo Reply
November 18, 2014 at 11:06 pm
this is actually goodnews ,so that i reduce my concetration after the exchange ,. Chikanda iwama, cant stop ma shine
krem-j Reply
November 19, 2014 at 7:05 am
I love deep kiss..
IF NOT Reply
November 19, 2014 at 3:00 pm
This article cannot discourage anyone from kissing unless those who hate kisses.
test@e Reply
November 19, 2014 at 4:13 pm
but they did not also talk about us with more partners to slaughter.
bonse reposted Reply
November 19, 2014 at 9:08 pm
@atase boi coloured nizeee..i dream of having one 1
Kepusha Takolelwe Bowa Reply
November 20, 2014 at 8:52 am
Nomba how are we going to be expressing our feelings physically kanshi no sex and no kisses. Yaba elyo yashupa nomba