That's the why

Why does plaque stick to your teeth?

Dental plaque – if you don’t scrub it off – over time can turn even a gleaming Donny Osmond-esque smile into more of a Shane MacGowan-type situation.

Plaque is a sheet or “biofilm” that contains bacteria and sticks to your teeth, and if it’s not removed, then eventually acid produced by the micro-organisms within it can damage your pearlies and promote the formation of caries.

But why does plaque stick so readily to the surfaces of our gnashers?

One factor is an enzyme that bacteria produces which seems to enhance the process – glucansucrases from the bugs help to turn sugar we put in our mouths

into carbohydrate structures that in turn encourage the formation of the film on teeth and help bacteria stick to them.

Scientists at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands have just published a detailed description of one such enzyme – a GH70 glucansucrase from a Lactobacillus species – and they reckon that having this insight could pave the way to eventually blocking the tooth-threatening actions.

"These results provide a solid basis for structure-based inhibitor design, and could facilitate the search for unique specific anticaries drugs," they write in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

But in the meantime, limit the sugary stuff brush morning and evening and get regular dental checkups.