Plaque is a soft, sticky film of bacteria that forms on your teeth continuously. Left alone for a couple of days it hardens into tartar, which no amount of brushing removes. Preventing that is the whole point of daily cleaning.
What plaque is, and why the timing matters
Bacteria begin colonising a clean tooth surface within hours. Given sugar, they produce acid that dissolves enamel. Along the gum line they cause inflammation.
Crucially, plaque takes roughly 24 to 72 hours to mineralise into tartar. Once it has, it is bonded to the tooth and requires a scaler to remove. That window is why daily cleaning works and twice-weekly cleaning does not.
Tip 1 — Brush along the gum line, not just the teeth
The most common technical error. People scrub the flat surfaces and skip the junction where tooth meets gum — which is exactly where gum disease begins.
Angle a soft brush at 45 degrees into the gum line and use small circular movements. If your gums bleed there, that area needs more attention, not less.
Tip 2 — Clean between the teeth every day
A brush cannot reach where teeth touch. Interdental brushes are more effective than floss where gaps allow it; floss where they are tight, curving it around each tooth in a C shape and sliding under the gum edge.
Once daily. This single habit prevents more disease than any product you can buy.
Tip 3 — Reduce how often you eat, not just what
Every sugary or starchy snack triggers around 20 to 30 minutes of acid attack. Six snacks across a day means six attacks and almost no recovery time for the enamel.
- Keep sweet things to mealtimes
- Water between meals rather than juice or cold drinks
- Never sip a sugary drink slowly over an hour — the worst pattern there is
- Sugar-free gum after meals stimulates the saliva that neutralises acid
Tip 4 — Clean your tongue
The tongue’s surface holds a large reservoir of bacteria that recolonise the teeth after brushing. A scraper or brush, back to front, once a day. It also makes a noticeable difference to breath.
Tip 5 — Have tartar removed professionally, twice a year
However good your technique, some tartar forms — particularly on the inner surfaces of the lower front teeth and the outer surfaces of the upper molars, where salivary glands empty. Those are the two spots almost everyone misses.
Once it has hardened, only an ultrasonic scaler removes it. Every six months for most people; every three to four months if you have had gum disease.
And to address the persistent myth: scaling does not loosen teeth or damage enamel. Tartar can splint teeth already loosened by bone loss, so removing it reveals mobility that was already there.
Where plaque hides
- Between teeth
- Along the gum line, especially the inner surfaces of lower front teeth
- The grooves of molars
- Around brackets in braces patients
- Around crown and bridge margins
- Around the necks of crowded, overlapping teeth
Book a scaling on 8359017239. Related reading: a complete guide to oral hygiene.
