Not all stomatologists agree that it is necessary to use toothpaste to maintain a clean and healthy mouth for life. Instead, they all agree that proper toothbrushing is desirable to keep teeth and gums free of plaque buildup.
Over the last few generations the human diet has become so refined and softened that the formation of bacterial plaque – made up of 60-80% microorganisms – is now inevitable, even though it is the main cause of caries formation and diseases of the sophisticated system of attachment of the teeth to the bone.
What causes the ingestion of sugars and flour?
Streptococci and lactobacilli in bacterial plaque are the main causes of caries formation. Paradonto diseases are caused by microorganisms such as actinomyces, treponemes, capnocutophagas or eikinellas.
When a food composed of carbohydrates (with sugars and flours, for example) is ingested, the microbes of this plaque ferment it, various acids are formed and, when the pH reaches an acid value of 5.5, the apatite of the teeth begins to dissolve.
A couple of hours after ingesting the sugary food, the saliva has “washed away” the acid. The pH increases to 6.5 and has the capacity to remineralize the small amount of demineralization that the tooth had suffered. A certain balance between demineralization and remineralization can be maintained if there is not a large amount of plaque and if the saliva is given time, between meals, to carry away the acids and provide the ions necessary for correct remineralization.
However, modern habits often work against this possible rebalancing. It is difficult to avoid small ingestions of food between the hours of the main meals. From the opulent and enviable schoolboy snacks to the beer and tapas with friends, to the engagement snacks with canapés, the candy at the cinema and the mid-morning snack at the office, food eaten between main meals has an enormous power of imbalance even if the amount consumed is minimal. Why? Because saliva does not have enough time to clear the acids in the corners of the mouth. The pH is then almost all day close to 5 and the necessary remineralization does not occur.
When demineralization persists, it leads to the dissolution of the enamel prisms and the beginning of dental caries and there is no turning back: the lesion is irreversible. And even if caries takes time to affect the nerve areas and does not cause any discomfort for the time being, it is advisable to start treatment as soon as possible.
What is tartar?
On the other hand, the continuous presence of bacterial plaque in the area where the tooth and gum meet causes gingivitis (the gum starts to bleed when the toothbrush is applied) and later periodontitis appears. Bacteria move under the gum reaching the root of the tooth and the bone, causing tooth mobility and tooth loss. This periodontitis is responsible for the fact that 30% of the population over 60 years of age has no teeth at all. Bacterial plaque matures with time, its flora changes and becomes richer, its thickness increases and it becomes mineralized, creating the so-called tartar, which is very detrimental to the preservation of teeth.
To prevent as much as possible all this sequence of misfortunes, it is necessary to brush your teeth and gums effectively. And to facilitate the removal of plaque and make the enamel more resistant, toothpastes can also be used.