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Causes and Prevention of Plaque

Keeping your teeth and gums clean is very important. Oral health has a significant role to play in your overall well-being. Poor dental hygiene can reflect in your physical health. To have healthy teeth and gums, you need to keep it away from bacterial infection. The root cause of such infections is plaque and tartar. Indeed, it is crucial to know about these harmful substances and the ways to prevent them successfully.


This blog is all about causes, prevention and treatment of plaque and tartar

About Plaque:
It is a colorless, sticky and thin film of bacteria which keeps forming on the tooth surface and gumline. You need to remove it by proper flossing and brushing to keep your mouth clean and fresh. Plaque, if not removed, can turn into another thicker and harder substance – tartar. It is a form of plaque that sticks to the enamel and below the gum line.

Causes of Plaque:
After you have your meal, a lot of food particles remain stuck in between the teeth for a long time. There are bacteria in the mouth that attack on the food remains, especially carbohydrates and sugars producing harmful acids. The acids then target the tooth surface hampering the enamel. If these bacteria and acids are not removed on time, it results in the formation of more plaque and tartar. Tartar is an advanced form of plaque which makes it thicker and sticky adhering the tooth surface strongly.

The unremoved plaque can cause oral problems like periodontal disease and tooth decay which ultimately leads to more serious issues. To avoid these problems, you should go for a regular checkup with your dentist.

Common symptoms:
Formation of plaque is normal for everyone as the bacteria growing in the mouth are almost invisible. The unremoved plaque from the gum line results in irritation and inflammation of gums. This if left untreated, may lead to gingivitis which further progresses into a periodontal disease. Beyond these oral issues, lies another severe problem, tooth loss. You can ultimately lose a tooth as a result of untreated gum disease.

To the contrary, tartar can be easily noticed with its thick build-up above the gum line. Its most peculiar symptom is a brown or yellow deposit around the gumline or the front teeth of the lower jaw. An effective way of getting away with it is professional cleaning.

Its prevention - All you need to do is follow some oral care tips like:

• Brushing daily at least for two minutes both in the morning and night. It helps in regular removal of plaque 
• Daily flossing to clean between the teeth and under the gum line 
• Reduce intake of sugars and carbohydrates, especially sticky sweets 
• Book regular appointments with a good dentist for profesional cleaning and check-ups

Signs You Need Your Wisdom Teeth Removed

Most of the time, there are no noticeable signs that your wisdom teeth need to be extracted. Rather it’s your dentist who decides that your wisdom teeth may cause future health problems.

When you visit your dentist, he or she will take an X-ray of your teeth to look for possible signs of decay and check how your wisdom teeth are developing.  If a wisdom tooth is misaligned or is only partially erupted through the gums, it may need to be extracted. A misaligned tooth could crowd or damage adjacent teeth.  Partial eruption, meanwhile, leaves your mouth vulnerable to infection and tooth decay.

If you haven’t had an X-ray in a while, it’s probably time to schedule an appointment. The most common sympton is pain/swelling, swollen gum, pain/ulcers and moving teeth.  Other signs that your wisdom teeth are not growing in properly include:

·   If you’re concerned about your wisdom teeth, make an appointment with us today to receive an X-ray and develop an appropriate treatment plan.

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