DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU’RE KISSING?

Most of us play super sleuth when we hear a stranger’s name. If it’s a potential date mate, our fingers are lightning rods on the keyboards of our mobile phones, tablets, or laptops. We get the instant gratification of immediate information on the object of our interest from a Google search.

But nowhere on the internet will you find information about a guy or gal’s oral health, and yet the state of their mouths is certainly more important than how many Instagram likes or other social media followers and friend requests awaiting our approval.

Brush up on who you’re kissing, because neglecting to do so, could be dangerous to your health!

Our mouths are full of bacteria. Anywhere from 10 million and 1 billion bacteria get swapped between two people during a kiss. These little bugs are invisible to the human eye.

The spread of diseases through kissing increases when a mouth is unhealthy. Colds and other upper respiratory infections travel through a person’s nose and throat, putting you, the kissee, in direct contact with a cold virus.

Let me share the good news: There are health benefits to kissing. The expectation of a kiss increases saliva, so your teeth get an automatic plaque cleansing before the kiss even begins. Think of saliva as a human oral irrigator, that rids the mouth of food particles which can cause cavities. So, kissing can be good for keeping your teeth, gums, and mouth healthy. Your immune system can even get an extra boost of antibodies to fight foreign bacteria, which helps you fight infection.

Encourage the one you love—or the one you think you might love one day–to look after their mouths in the same way you support visits to the gym, or daily healthy eating habits. Remember: His or her oral hygiene issues are not isolated. They are shared with you every time you lock lips.

Your toothbrush is off-limits. Never loan it out. If you see a cold sore on a person’s lip, avoid kissing, to avoid contracting herpes.

Don’t be seduced by the notion that a casual kiss is harmless. Keep in mind that Mononucleosis, known as the “kissing disease” is transmitted through kissing. Diseases aren’t sexy.

Perhaps the best present you can buy your Valentine this year is a myriad of oral health products and decorative cases to hold the swag items: Toothpaste, floss, mouth rinse, tongue scraper, a compact mirror, and xylitol gum and mints.

A card that reads, “Let’s a book ‘his and her’ dental exams,” is certainly original, and truly says, “I love you!” Preventive oral health care is painless easy and inexpensive in the long run. Diseases aren’t sexy, so make it a priority to brush up on your partner’s oral health history, and review your own oral hygiene, so you stay as healthy, as you are kissable.