Dogs mouths cleaner than ours?

Question

I hear people always say that dogs mouths are cleaner than ours....what proof do you have for this?

I have a 4 month old pup....I see the crap he puts in his mouth and I find it very hard to believe that their mouths are cleaner than ours.

Answer 1

A dogs mouth is not cleaner then ours, our mouths are full of bacteria.Your dogs mouth is full of bacteria. Your dogs bacteria is not going to do anything to you as yours is not going to do anything to your dog. We are different species so things affect us differently.
I guess what I am trying to say is I have had dogs for many years and let them kiss me and I kiss them and I have never gotten sick.

Answer 2

This is a yes and no fact. It's a matter of WHICH bacteria are present rather than how many. The fact is that germs tend to be species specific. Harmful dog germs are usually harmless for humans, unless we're talking about rabies, a disease that affects dogs and people in equally damaging ways. But generally, humans are immune to most dog germs. Likewise, human germs probably won't harm a dog. But human germs can harm humans, of course. So a bite from a human mouth full of harmful bacteria may very well be more damaging than a dog bite, even if the dog's mouth is full of harmful dog germs.

Answer 3

Dogs do have cleaner mouths as defined by the amount of bacteria in them. That gets proven time and again using the swab test and petri dishes.

What he puts into his mouth goes into his stomach so that isn't a problem. The problem with being bitten by a human rather than a dog is that we can transmit things within species more often than between species.

I can't prove it but I think there is also a big difference between dog teeth structure and ours. Our flat, closely spaced teeth, provide lots of places for bacteria to hide and grow.

This is a pretty common science experiment:

http://www.metpet.com/Reference/Grooming/Dog%20mouth%20versus%20cat%20mouth%20versus%20human%20mouth%20bacteria.html

Answer 4

See, this is hard because it depends on your definition of clean. Yes, they put a lot of stuff in their mouth that we wouldn't ever dare put in ours. Yet there mouths have special chemicals and bacteria which breaks down this bacteria, which we don't have in ours. So if you take a sample swap from our mouths and compare it to the mouth of a dog, assuming they haven't JUST eaten something nasty, they will have less bad bacteria because they can break it down.

Answer 5

I don't think that dogs mouths are cleaner than ours. They drink out of the toilet. They eat all this different food, and they chew on almost everything in sight. (Usually when they are puppies.) But they might have this special chemical/material in their mouths that might kill germs/bacteria. But I don't really know for sure... I'm just guessing! :] Good Luck!

Answer 6

Their mouths produce some chemical in their saliva that disinfects all kinds of bacteria. It has even been scientifically proven that if you have a cut / wound and a dog licks it, it will heal faster. Their are dogs known as "healing" dogs just for that trait. They can sense a wound and naturally are prone to licking it.

Answer 7

They had this on that show MythBusters on Discovery network, and they proved that yes, dogs mouths are cleaner (less infectious) than a humans. I guess you will get both sides though. . no one I think had ever died from having their dog give them a kiss, so why stress over it! :)

Answer 8

I find it hard to believe their mouths are cleaner than ours. They clean their private areas, we don't. Some people let their dog lick their face, yuck. I don't let my dog lick my face. Whenever her mouth touches my hand I wash it.

Answer 9

Yes, that is a myth. Dogs carry more dangerous bacteria in their mouths than ours...think of the ones that eat their poop...and lick their butt...ewww.

I watched an episode of Its me or the dog on Animal Planet and they did a swipe on this couples kitchen because the dog was licking and putting her paws on the counter...ecoli was found all over the kitchen. Nasty...don't kiss your dogs people...bluh!!

Answer 10

That's been debunked. Read: