Iv'e heard that dog's mouths are cleaner than human's mouths. I never let my dog lick my face because of where they have had their tongue previously. Is there any truth to this?-juanita

Tested and confirmed.

Oh yeah, i've heard this myth and I heard that it's because the dogs saliva actually cleans. if that were the case than you really should let your dog lick you.

In the show they had Adam and a dog lick a sterile petri dish with agar, the one that Adam licked grew more colonies of bacteria.

A dog's saliva is mildly antiseptic but that doesn't say that a dogs mouth is clean. There are bacteria that are harmful. I have had a dog bite through my hand and was told by the ER doctor that one of the verities of bacteria that is common in a dogs mouth can be very dangerous if it gets into muscle tissue, you can quickly loose the limb if the infection is not treated. In the ER I was given IV antibiotics and two day later when I saw my doctor I was running a low grade fever so I was given another dose of IV antibiotics.

quote:

A dog's saliva is mildly antiseptic but that doesn't say that a dogs mouth is clean. There are bacteria that are harmful. I have had a dog bite through my hand and was told by the ER doctor that one of the verities of bacteria that is common in a dogs mouth can be very dangerous if it gets into muscle tissue, you can quickly loose the limb if the infection is not treated.

I don't think "antiseptic" is really the word for it. vets have always said they simply have more antibodies in their saliva. "cleaner" then also becomes a misnomer.

the myth comes from the idea that they can eat things that are more dangerous to ingest for most creatures... like feces. (this does not apply to things they cannot eat... in fact, most of the things they can't eat most animals can't eat and aren't necessarily good for humans to begin with with the two exceptions of grapes/raisins and bulbs like onions and garlic.)

the reason that dog bites can be infectious is that a) they may still have things in their mouth that their antibodies have yet to destroy, especially in the tiny valleys of their tooth enamel and b) it's a puncture wound... you get anything in a puncture wound and you're pretty much going to have to take antibiotics as a preventative. most puncture wounds that bleed a lot when you get them are less likely to become infected because your white cells will quickly bond to the parasitic bacteria and bleed out almost as quick as they get in there. in short: dog bite = rather infectious; dog licking your wounds = pretty good idea.