The price of a kiss
By Tomás Núñez, ThD
An intense kiss transmits 80 million bacteria
The price of a kiss. Every time we kiss passionately, we transfer a massive amount of microorganisms to our partner, and they transfer them to us. This was the conclusion of the latest study conducted by the Netherlands’ Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and published in the journal Microbiome.
Not everyone has the same type of microorganisms living inside their bodies (which help us digest food or prevent disease), as genetics, diet, and age influence each individual’s microbiome (community of microorganisms). The mouth is the area of our body where the most types of bacteria can live (up to 700 varieties), and their variety also depends on the people we spend the most time with.
For their experiment, the researchers asked 21 couples to complete a questionnaire about their emotional behavior, especially regarding kissing. After this, they took mouth samples (saliva and tongue) from each of the couples to analyze the exact composition of each one’s microbiota. The results revealed that the more a couple kissed (at least nine times daily), the more similar their bacterial communities were. In fact, after each intense kiss, the scientists discovered that around 80 million bacteria were transferred.
“The most intimate kisses involve full tongue contact and saliva exchange, a behavior unique in nature and common in 90% of known cultures. Conventional explanations of the role of kissing in humans typically assign a significant role to the microbiota present in the oral cavity. However, scientists have never studied the exact effects of these kisses. We wanted to find out to what extent couples share their oral microbiota. And it turns out that the more a couple kisses, the more similar their bacterial communities become.”
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