The dentists I consulted said bacteria that cause cavities are INSIDE teeth, under the surface. Mouthwash can't reach them. Interesting. Another said that bacteria can not be inside the teeth in the microtubules, otherwise they would infect the root. We saw above that plaque is 300 to 500 cells thick with s. Mutans. How does this layer interact with the tooth surface? How big are s. mutans bacteria? How do they hide from the active ingredients in mouthwash? In healthy enamel strands are 100,000 by 50 by 25 nanometers. ( 49 ) Each green bundle (artificially collored in the photo for clarity) below is made up of many enamel strands and each bundle is about 5 micrometers (microns) in diameter ( 50 ) or about five times as wide as a single s mutans bacteria. Above is an electron micrograph of enamel crystals organized in bundles called prisms. These extremely long and parallel organized hydroxyapatite crystals are often organized perpendicular to each other. The figure is colorized to show the organization. ( 52 ) You can see that from the perspective of a bacteria, the surface is rough and there may be many places to hide. It seems evident from this photo, however, that bacteria would not be able to penetrate healthy enamel unless they break it down first. Remaining questions about mouthwash: 1. How exactly does it kill bacteria? How effective is it at killing s mutans? 2. As they get into your teeth, do the bacteria leave behind any kind of barrier to keep the mouthwash out?
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