It can be tempting to think that there is no reason to brush your teeth if you avoid sweets. However, even individuals who abstain from eating sweets still battle plaque buildup on their teeth. More importantly, not eating sweets does not mean that you have not ingested sugar. For example, rice and bread contain sugar, and sugar is what bacteria love to feast on.
Regardless of whether you eat sweets, dental plaque will form and mature on the tooth’s surface every 12 hours. The mature dental plaque decomposes food residues and continuously produces acid, which leads to tooth decay and damage. Essentially, “no sweets” does not equal “no sugar.”
To help us better understand this process, we will first look at how plaque forms.
Dental plaque is a complex bacterial mass that contains bacteria, intercellular material, small amounts of white blood cells, epithelial cells, and food debris. Simply put, plaque can be thought of as a home for bacteria.
We will look at a home-building analogy to explain how bacteria come to live on the tooth’s surface. A bacteria buildup on the teeth happens in three stages. In the first stage, bacteria begin constructing a foundation. Sialoglycoprotein is a protein in the saliva, and when it comes into contact with the tooth, it can attach to the enamel and form a membrane-like substance called an acquired membrane. This process takes place on freshly cleaned teeth and forms within minutes. It then rapidly thickens within 1-2 hours.
In the second stage, more bacteria are attracted to the area and settle there, building a “family” of bacteria. Finally, the third stage brings many bacteria together where they can interact, simultaneously absorbing nutrients from the individual’s saliva and providing nutrients to one another. Therefore, brushing teeth regularly, even if sweets are not consumed, helps stop this multiplication process and keeps bacteria from building a sturdy home on your tooth’s surface!
Using Oclean smart electric toothbrush can help you brush effectively and safely.
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