[gregpawin]

Does anyone know what dental plaque is made of?  All I've got from a quick google is that its a biofilm or bacterial lawn which is still ambigious to me.  Is it the bacteria that's making this stuff, are the gums secreting it, or is it old food and spit?

How can you have so much bacteria in your mouth that you have to brush twice a day to get rid of this "biofilm"

[Corvettaholic]

pretty sure its the byproducts of bacteria's metabolism, but I could be wrong. Had to do a research project when I was little, tough to remember exactly what I came up with.

[gregpawin]

Really?  Bacteria products?  Why don't they drown in their crap and die like all other animals?  Also, what's the chemical makeup of this stuff?

[Corvettaholic]

The composition is beyond me, but I know one of the byproducts of bacteria is methane. Whether that reacts with stuff in your mouth to make that nasty film, I'm not too sure. Maybe they secrete something else too.

[gregpawin]

Does plaque bacteria make methane?  I know bacteria can make a variety of things.  We can even engineer them to make things like insulin and I'm sure there's methane producing bacteria in digestive systems.

[Corvettaholic]

Given that bacteria can make a ton of stuff, I wonder what mouth bacteria puts out. Guess it depends on what kind of mouth bacteria, just consider what "bad breath" bacteria put out. Probably the same thing your rear end does, by the way it smells.