Dental knowledge: dental plaque

The rough surface of calculus is an ideal base for bacteria to settle on.

Dental plaque, known in current dental usage as a biofilm, consists of bacteria and their metabolic products, food residues and constituents of saliva. It is tenacious, clings firmly to the teeth and offers bacteria and germs an ideal home. Plaque grows, spreads and damages the enamel within as little as two days. What starts as a soft deposit develops over time into a hard layer that a toothbrush can no longer remove: calculus, whose rough surface is the ideal base for more bacteria to settle on.

Under normal conditions a healthy mouth maintains a complex balance between the bacteria on the mucosa and those on the tooth surfaces. Various factors can shift that balance sharply. Disease-causing germs can then multiply and do their damage.

Answered briefly

Frequently asked questions

How quickly does plaque damage the teeth?

The deposit damages the enamel within as little as two days. Dental plaque, also called biofilm, consists of bacteria and their metabolic products, food residues and constituents of saliva. It is tenacious, clings firmly to the teeth and keeps growing if it is not removed.

Why will hard deposits no longer come off with a toothbrush?

Because what starts as a soft deposit develops over time into a hard layer that a toothbrush can no longer remove. This calculus has a rough surface, and that is exactly the ideal base for more bacteria to settle on.

Are bacteria in the mouth always harmful?

No. Under normal conditions a healthy mouth maintains a complex balance between the bacteria on the mucosa and those on the tooth surfaces. Only when various factors shift that balance sharply can disease-causing germs multiply and do damage.