From The Journal of Oral Microbiology:
If there is indeed a causal link between oral microbiota and cancer, then the ultimate goal would be to prevent the development of cancer by interfering with the putative carcinogenic potential of the microbiome.
In other words, if the bacteria in your mouth are doing something that increases your risk of getting cancer, then the goal is to find something that we can do to counteract that risk. There are a few different tactics that you can use:
Reduce Overall Cancer Risk
Cancer risk may be affected by what's going on in your mouth, but your mouth really is only one small part of your body. If you're worried about an increase in cancer risk from one place, fight it by decreasing your cancer risk elsewhere. There are plenty of pages online about reducing your overall cancer risks, so we won't get into it here -- it's just one way to address the problem.
Reduce the Risk from Your Oral Bacteria
Cysteine is a non-essential amino acid that is commonplace in several foods. It's also been shown to prevent carcinogens from forming in its immediate environment -- so a regular mouthwash with a drop of cysteine in it could, in theory, reduce the cancer risk without actually doing anything else to improve your oral health. Of course, that seems kind of silly when you could just...
Reduce the Presence of Negative Bacteria in Your Mouth
And the way to do that is stuff you should already be doing every day -- brush, floss, use mouthwash, avoid sugary foods, eat a healthy diet, get decent exercise and get plenty of rest. It's amazing how much just taking care of yourself can keep you well taken care of.
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