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Dental plaque reasons.
Tooth enamel is inherently structured so that food particles or other substances entering the oral cavity can freely slide off the surface of the tooth and leave no marks on it. But there are many factors that provoke the retention of substances on the tooth and form the so-called dental plaque:
- Poor cleaning of teeth with oral hygiene;
- Sticky substances that are in the composition of food, medicines, which are retained on the surface of the enamel due to their physical properties (adhesion);
- Microorganisms - symbionts that colonize the surface of the tooth, and their metabolic products;
- Damage to tooth enamel as a result of mechanical trauma, chemical influences and temperature changes, leading to microcracks, roughness of the enamel of the teeth and contributing to the retention of substances on the surface of the tooth;
- Unevenness of the enamel of the teeth due to the presence of diseases such as enamel hyperplasia, wedge-shaped defect, fluorosis.
Dental plaque has different physical and biochemical properties, which makes it possible to divide it into several types, depending on its characteristics:
White - yellow dental plaque has a soft, loose texture. This type of plaque can form during the day in the cervical region of the teeth (close to the gingival margin), fissures or interdental spaces and consists of microparticles (residues, food, epithelium, dead leukocytes, waste products of oral microorganisms, which, as much as we would not like, still accompany our life). This plaque can be cleaned off with a toothbrush on your own and does not worry about its renewal if you brush your teeth regularly (at least once a day, ideally after each meal). But if the frequency of cleaning the teeth is disrupted, then such a plaque causes rotting processes in the oral cavity, provokes an unpleasant odor, can gradually turn into hard plaques and form tartar, the fight against which is a more complex process. In addition, the close location of the plaque to the edge of the gums will cause the development of diseases of the gingival edge and oral mucosa.
White-yellow dental plaques are hard deposits on the tooth enamel, usually located on the cervical region of the coronal part of the tooth or on its lateral surfaces (approximal). Plaques are not placed in a continuous layer, like white plaque, and have a strong bond with tooth enamel, which prevents them from being brushed off with a toothbrush. As for the origin of dental plaque, there are several opinions, but they are all similar in one thing: this is the result of the presence of microorganisms (bacteria or fungi) that trap desquamated and dead epithelial cells.
Greenish or yellow-green dental plaque is the result of the vital activity of chromogenic bacteria or fungus - the symbiont of Lichen dentalis, living in the enamel surface and changing the color of the tooth enamel against the background of sunlight. By the name of the scientist who discovered the fungus, the plaque on the teeth is also named - Priestley's plaque. Such plaque forms on the frontal part of the teeth, closer to the gingival margin and is not removed with a brush or with the help of intense friction, since chromogenic microorganisms are embedded in the very thickness of the enamel. The most affordable method of getting rid of a greenish tint is considered to be discoloration of the enamel surface using hydrogen peroxide (for example, 3%) or special products produced for whitening teeth. Some experts recommend rubbing fluoride paste or sodium fluoride solution (1%) into the enamel surface.
Brown plaque on the teeth has several variants of origin, the simplest cases of such plaque occurrence are the use of dark-colored drinks (coffee, tea) and the result of smoking. This kind of plaque cannot be removed with a toothbrush, and it requires a trip to the dentist for professional teeth cleaning .
But there are other, more complex mechanisms for the occurrence of dark plaque, which are associated with digestive disorders, dysbiosis of the oral cavity and gastrointestinal tract, or the presence of parasites (worms).
Sometimes, various shades of dark plaque from brown to purple tones are the result of an increased release of iron ions with saliva, for example, while taking iron-containing drugs. This plaque is usually seen in children and requires mechanical cleaning in the dentist's office.
If the plaque on the teeth has other shades, for example, orange, pink, and so on, then the causes of such plaque may be food coloring in food or carotene contained in carrots or in medicines. Such colors of the teeth are temporary and, if the use of coloring food or preparations is abandoned, they disappear on their own.
Plaque should not be confused with discolored teeth due to metabolic disturbances in the body or diseases of dental hard tissues, since the mechanisms for removing plaque and restoring the color of teeth damaged by demineralization or disease are different.
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