# Mouth Ecology Notes
> Hundreds of species live in your mouth. A friendly introduction to the oral microbiome, how it differs from the gut and why balance matters.

## Guides
- [What a Microbiome Is](https://oral-microbiome-explained.pages.dev/what-is-a-microbiome/): A microbiome is the community of microorganisms living in a particular place, together with the environment they share.
- [How Many Species Live in the Mouth](https://oral-microbiome-explained.pages.dev/hundreds-of-species-mouth/): The mouth is home to a very large and varied community, commonly described as hundreds of species mouth researchers have identified, and exact counts depend on.
- [Microbiome vs Microbiota](https://oral-microbiome-explained.pages.dev/microbiome-vs-microbiota/): In casual use the two words overlap, but microbiome vs microbiota is a real distinction: microbiota usually means the organisms themselves, while microbiome.
- [Mouth Habitats: Teeth, Tongue and Cheeks](https://oral-microbiome-explained.pages.dev/mouth-habitats-teeth-tongue-cheeks/): Mouth habitats teeth tongue cheeks are different from one another in surface, moisture and oxygen, so each one supports a somewhat different community of.
- [Why Balance Matters More Than Sterility](https://oral-microbiome-explained.pages.dev/why-balance-matters/): Why balance matters comes down to a simple idea: a mouth cannot be made germ-free, and a mixed community that stays in proportion is the normal, workable state.

## About
- [About Mouth Ecology Notes](https://oral-microbiome-explained.pages.dev/about/): not medical advice, how the site is funded and how guides are made

## Optional
- [RSS feed](https://oral-microbiome-explained.pages.dev/feed.xml)