Definition of Dental plaque

1. Noun. A film of mucus and bacteria deposited on the teeth that encourages the development of dental caries.

Exact synonyms: Bacterial Plaque
Generic synonyms: Plaque

Medical Definition of Dental plaque

1. A soft, thin film of food debris, mucin and dead epithelial cells deposited on the teeth, providing the medium for the growth of various bacteria. The main inorganic components are calcium and phosphorus with small amounts of magnesium, potassium and sodium, the organic matrix consists of polysaccharides, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and other components. Plaque plays an important aetiological role in the development of dental caries and periodontal and gingival diseases and provides the base for the development of materia alba, calcified plaque forms dental calculus. (19 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Dental Plaque

dental material
dental materials
dental medicine
dental neck
dental nerve
dental notation
dental occlusion
dental offices
dental orthopaedics
dental orthopedics
dental pain
dental pathology
dental physiology
dental pins
dental plaque (current term)
dental plaque index
dental plate
dental polishing
dental polyp
dental porcelain
dental practice
dental practitioner
dental procedure
dental process
dental prophylaxis
dental prosthesis
dental prosthesis design
dental prosthesis repair
dental prosthesis retention

Literary usage of Dental plaque

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Guide To Clinical Preventive Services by U. S. Preventive Services Task Force (1989)
"Effects of supervised daily dental plaque removal by children after 3 years. ... Axelsson P, Lindhe J. The effect of a preventive program on dental plaque, ..."

2. Guide to Clinical Preventive Services: Report of the U. S. Preventive by DIANE Publishing Company (1996)
"The effect of a preventive program on dental plaque, gingivitis and caries in school ... dental plaque control measures and oral hygiene practices. ..."

3. Bound for Good Health: A Collection of Age Pages (1993)
"The bacteria stick to teeth and form a colorless film called dental plaque. The bacteria in plaque, which live on sugars, produce decay-causing acids that ..."

4. Tobacco Effects In The Mouth by Robert E. Mecklenburg (1995)
"dental plaque formation may be greater among smokers than nonsmokers, although lifestyle is felt to be more the cause rather than a feature of smoking per ..."

5. Mammalian Models for Research on Aging by Bennett J. Cohen, Institute Of Laboratory Animal Resources, National Research Council Staff (1981)
"... attraction of crevicular leukocytes by human dental plaque factors (Hellden and Lindhe, l973); • clinical radiography and scintigraphy (Saxe et al., ..."

6. Ending the War Metaphor: The Changing Agenda for Unraveling the Host-Microbe by Forum on Microbial Threats, Institute of Medicine (U.S.) (2006)
"Saliva and dental plaque. Advances in Dental Research 14:29-39. Saitou N. Nei M. 1987. The neighbor-joining method: A new method for reconstructing ..."

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