Nature and Composition of Dental Plaque

Complementary Tolls in the periodontium: how periodontal bacteria modify complement and Toll-like receptor responses to prevail in the host

“…Periodontal disease is possibly the most common chronic disorder of infectious origin in humans, resulting in inflammatory destruction of the tooth‐supporting tissues (125). The disease is initiated by certain species of subgingival gram‐negative anaerobic bacteria that co‐exist within dynamic communities of highly organized architecture (31, 158), originally termed ‘dental plaque’, which predates the more modern term ‘biofilm’ (46, 108). In fact, seldom would discussions on pathogenic biofilms omit the classical example of dental plaque (25, 88).…”

The Chemistry of Plaque

“…Hexosamines were found by Leach to be present both in incubated saliva and in plaque. Millin and Smith (1961) analyzed what they called "plaque" which had deposited on dentures. Microscopically it resembled the early plaque described by McDougall, being ''structureless" and relatively free from bacteria.…”

Concerning Dental Plaque

“…In any case, its ultimate fate under old established 'plaques' or in areas where there has been surface change in the enamel seems to be unknown. Histo-chemical [18,19,24] and chemical studies [1,22] of pellicle have not given consistent results in the hands of different investigators, which suggests either that its composition differs in different tooth areas or varies with time on the same surfaces. Differences in chemical composition of the proteinaceous material layering on the enamel surface could be accounted for by the ability of enamel to adsorb proteins of various sorts.…”