Though uncalcified biofilms can be removed by routine oral hygiene aids or professional dental instruments, they have the potential to calcify into dental calculus making their removal difficult. The cooperative nature of a microbial community provides advantages to the participating organisms such as a broader habitat range for growth, enhanced resistance to antimicrobial agents and host defenses and enhanced pathogenicity.īiofilms have been implicated as the chief culprit in the etiopathogenesis of dental caries and periodontal disease. Such an aggregation of microbes on tooth surfaces has been traditionally referred to as ‘plaque’ because of its yellowish color, reminiscent of mucosal plaques caused by syphilis.ĭental plaque has been defined as “a specific but highly variable structural entity consisting of micro-organisms and their products embedded in a highly organized intercellular matrix.” It represents a true biofilm consisting of a variety of micro-organisms involved in a wide range of physical, metabolic and molecular interactions.
The primary requisite for any group of microbes to flourish in a niche is their ability to adhere to the tooth surfaces and multiply in shielded environments like periodontal pockets and tooth crevices. It offers diverse habitats where-in different species of micro-organisms can prosper. Oral cavity is an open growth system with an uninterrupted introduction and removal of microbes and their nutrients.