What is Plaque?
Plaque is the soft and sticky substance that accumulates on the teeth from food debris and bacteria. The plaque reacts with food, turning sugar into acid, which then dissolves the enamel on your teeth. Frequency of brushing and flossing with good technique is important to remove plaque, because the nature (ie composition) of the microorganisms change as the plaque gets “older.” Therefore, plaque which is 12 hours old for example is much less damaging than plaque which has not been removed in days.
Plaque is composed of bacteria, (both live and dead), the waste products from bacteria, food particles and other dead cells that the bacteria feed upon. This composition forms a greasy, sticky film on and in between teeth. All bacteria are not alike. There are about 400-500 different species of bacteria in our mouths. No place on your body, inside or out, has this many species of bacteria. They can be divided into two different groups – 1) the kind that breathe air (aerobic) and 2) the kind that live in the absence of air and will actually die in the presence of air (anaerobic). Bacteria between teeth are the most dangerous because they survive without air and in the presence of air they die. Dental Air Force® uses air to change the environment in those spaces between teeth and around the gum line where anaerobic bacteria thrive. It does this by bombarding the spaces with air, water and baking soda. The air oxygenates the area, making it difficult for the anaerobic bacteria to live. Ba
