Before you brush your teeth in the morning, if you scrape the surface of your teeth, a soft white sticky substance comes off. This is dental plaque. It is about 2/3 bacteria by weight. In a healthy mouth, you typically see small round bacteria and long thin bacteria that don’t move.

If you see a lot of moving bacteria and unusual forms, that may be an indicator of disease activity or infection. The bacterial sample in the video shows both moving and non-moving forms of different types.

Dr. Carlton will take samples of your bacteria when you come in for your exam and will show you what the pattern looks like.