Causes of Dental Plaque Disease and Treatment of Dental Plaque

What is Dental Plaque?

Dental Plaque is also called tooth plaque which is actually a colorless and yellow sticky layer or biofilm of bacteria present on our teeth which leads to several dental diseases such as;

• Tartar Buildup
• Cavities
• Gingivitis
• Gum disease/ Periodontitis

Causes of Dental Plaque Disease and Treatment of Dental Plaque

Eating foods that contain high amount of sugar i.e. sweets, cakes, candies and fruits containing high amount of sugar can lead to increase of plaque bacteria which then can cause further dental disease including gingivitis, gum  disease and tartar buildup.

Thus, the main reason to build a plaque are bacteria which we eat daily in millions with our food, so we can easily avoid this yellow plaque disease by brushing our teeth at least 2 times a day. Further, if plaque disease is developed and build a tartar then we should have to do proper treatment of plaque disease. So, we are going to discuss following points to avoid this disease and prevent to develop tartar.

1. Causes of Plaque
2. Early Signs of plaque
3. Reason of Tartar Buildup
4. Control / Removal of Dental Plaque

Causes of Plaque:

Plaque is developed when we eat foods that contain excessive amount of sugar, carbohydrates and starch (such as sweets, fruit juice, milk, drinks, cakes and candies), the tiny food particles are entangle in our teeth and the bacteria which are already present in our mouth react with these tiny particle of food and produce acids which destroy tooth enamel and finally cause the tooth decay.

In this way, bacteria produces the yellow or sometime colorless sticky layer on our teeth which is called dental plaque or simply plaque.

Early Signs of plaque:

It’s easy to remove dental plaque during the early stages of plaque development. So, it’s necessary to realize plaque at its early stages.

Following are the symptoms of plaque or Periodontal (gum) disease:

• Bad breath that stay long time
• Reddish / Swollen gums and bleeding from gums
• Painful chewing
• Loose or sensitive teeth
• Gums Become Soft

Reason of Tartar Buildup:

With the passage of time, the minerals in our saliva are attached with the layer of plaque/biofilms and after 24 to 72 hours it became harden which results into tartar buildup.

Dental plaque and tartar are two different diseases. In case of dental plaque, we can remove this plaque at home by using different tooth paste and doing brushing at least 2 times a day, but in case of tartar, we cannot remove it at home and we need professional dentist to remove tartar. Because tartar buildup is strongly bounded with the enamel of tooth and thus it requires dental professional to remove it.

Chances of Tartar Buildup is Greater in Following Cases:

• Dry Mouth
• Braces
• Smoking
• Aging
• Crowded Teeth

Control / Removal of Dental Plaque:

There are several methods to prevent dental plaque and tartar buildup, but there are two main methods which we are going to discuss below.

1. Brushing and Flossing To Remove Plaque
2. Exposing Plaque to Anti-Bacterial Ingredients

Brushing and Flossing To Remove Plaque: 

There are lot of brushes which helps us to get rid of plaque but we are recommending you an Electric toothbrush is more effective than all others toothbrushes. Brush your teeth twice a day with electric toothbrush that will remove the plaque and helps in teeth whitening.

When we eat food, it stuck into our teeth and it’s necessary to floss them on daily basis in order to get rid of plaque. If we did not floss it then bacteria can grow and develop plaque. So brushing only is not enough to remove all food particles from teeth and thus flossing is essential to remove them.

Exposing Plaque to Anti-Bacterial Ingredients:

We can also remove plaque by anti-plaque fluoride toothpastes that are most effective to remove plaque quickly. These anti-plaque toothpastes stops the growth and regrowth of bacteria and thus prevent the growth of dental plaque.

• In case of Tartar buildup that strongly bonds with the enamel of teeth and is not easy to remove with brushing, flossing or any anti-bacterial toothpaste and is removed by dental professionals. If you are seeing the symptoms tartar build up then visit your nearest dentist for proper treatment.