Plaque is your mouth’s worst enemy. It accumulates on your teeth and destroys precious enamel, leading to cavities, decay, and even disease. The bacteria that is produced from plaque is responsible for foul smelling breath and discolored teeth. Good oral hygiene practices will help control this aggressive adversary. Twice daily brushing and flossing will help keep your teeth, gums, and breath fresh and healthy.
What is plaque?
Sticky plaque is a residual substance made up of saliva and food particles. Without proper tooth cleaning after eating, plaque buildup forms on teeth. This harmful coating is full of decay and disease-causing bacteria. If plaque sits on the teeth for too long it hardens and becomes tartar. This layer can’t be removed by brushing, it needs to be scraped off by a dental professional. Tartar has a bad odor and it makes teeth appear yellow. It is hard to clean a mouth riddled with tartar.
What causes plaque development?
For plaque to form a chemical reaction need to occur. Bacteria, food, saliva, and carbohydrates need to be present in your mouth. Food items that are higher in sugar contain more carbs. Someone who enjoys a lot of sweets is highly likely to form plaque. Carbohydrates break down during chewing and combine with bacteria in the mouth. An acid is created as part of the process. This corrosive acid is a danger to tooth enamel. When the acid mixes with food particles and saliva, a sticky and stiff substance forms. The new creation is plaque that sticks to teeth and wreaks havoc if it doesn’t get removed.
How can plaque be avoided?
Plaque formation can be avoided in a couple of ways. You can first, watch what you eat. Plaque requires sugars and carbohydrates to develop. The less sugar you eat the better off your teeth will be. Stay away from soda, candy, and other sugary treats to hinder plaque buildup. It isn’t necessary to avoid all carbs, at all times. Healthier choices, such as whole grain bread, cereals, corn or potatoes, are also carbohydrates and they offer nutritional value. Regardless, plaque will form when you eat these foods.
Additionally, always remember to floss to remove food particles and bacteria from between your teeth. Flossing removes more debris, lessening the chance that bacteria will be left behind to form plaque.
Practice good oral hygiene
Consistent daily brushing and flossing will resolve this problem. Clean your teeth after eating these foods to remove food particles and plaque that has already accumulated. Brush in two separate directions and move the toothbrush frontwards and backward, covering all surfaces. An electric toothbrush will automatically move in two directions and cover all surfaces effectively.
Plaque starts to harden shortly after it forms on your teeth, within about two days. After that, it just gets harder and harder to remove. Once it becomes tartar only a professional scraping will remove it. There is toothpaste on the market that claim to offer tartar control. They actually work by removing plaque that hasn’t yet hardened into tartar. The most important way to manage plaque is to brush it off of your teeth.