Fortunately, humans have saliva to protect enamel and replenish the healthy calcium and phosphorus diminished by that corrosion. Even if the teeth are completely free of plaque, calcium ions in the dental enamel are continually removed and added in a dynamic demineralization-remineralization process known as the “demin-remin cycle.” This cycle occurs because food and drinks contain corrosive, calcium-depleting acids that give the food and drinks flavor. It plays a vital role in the development of both dental biofilm and calculus 3 (ie, when calcium is in the wrong place at the wrong time) while also serving as the main atomic building block of enamel and dentin (ie, when calcium is in the right place at the right time).īoth hydroxyapatite (HA) and the substances that form upon it contain the same 2 molecules: calcium phosphate and hydroxyl ions. Only a handful of elements are present at the tooth surface that allow plaque to accumulate. Clinicians often counsel their patients to carefully remove plaque via the physical action of tooth brushing however, the chemistry of plaque, calculus, enamel, dentin, and saliva constitute an intricate relationship. 2 Hence, plaque and calculus control are considered crucial to the effective self-management and prevention of oral disease development. 1īacterial plaque, as well as the formation of calculus on teeth and around the gingiva, has been intricately linked to the development of oral diseases such as caries, gingivitis, and periodontitis. Chelating agents in toothpastes, used at appropriate levels, can remove and prevent the buildup of undesirable bacterial plaque while leaving healthy levels of desirable calcium, achieving the chemical balance that is foundational to oral health. Developments in the application of chelation-the binding of ions and molecules to metal ions-provide an unprecedented level of targeted, effective, and gentle oral care. A modern understanding of plaque and the physics of how it attaches to teeth leads us to more gentle and effective methods of preventing plaque accumulation. The untargeted approach of abrasion-based oral care can often result in damage to tooth structure, impeding the remineralization of the enamel and diminishing one’s overall oral health. The bristles of toothbrushes and the silica in toothpastes treat the teeth much the same as we would treat a shower or sink that needs cleaning, even as the mouth is a complicated system made up of a variety of oral tissues. Scrubbing has long been the central strategy for cleaning teeth.
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