The Rotters are based on real bacteria that live in our mouths from birth, called streptococcus mutans. There are other oral bacteria in there too, but this strain is the one scientists have identified as the leading cause of tooth decay.
Bacteria are microorganisms – teeny, tiny single cell life forms – that are impossible to see with the human eye, and are largely harmless. However, if we don’t clean our teeth, the microorganisms (the Rotters!) in our mouths feed on all the food we’ve left behind and start to multiply.
They excrete, or ‘wee and poo’, what they don’t want, effectively using our mouths as their toilet! Their waste products come out as an acid that starts to ‘demineralise’ the protective coating of enamel on our teeth, breaking through to the next layer, called dentin. Once they’ve broken the tooth’s shield, that’s when holes begin to form and our teeth start to rot.
As the bacteria grow in numbers and mix with saliva and food debris, they form a sticky biofilm called plaque. Plaque acts like a net that traps more grime for more bacteria to feed off. If plaque isn’t cleaned off, it hardens and forms tartar, a shield that protects plaque, and makes it even more difficult to get rid of the bacteria once it’s there. That’s when a toothbrush just isn’t good enough and a dentist or oral hygienist is needed.
But the good news is it’s possible to reverse the damage, and most importantly prevent it in the first place! Read here.
Just remember, if we don’t clean our teeth, the bacteria (those dastardly Rotters) will eat, wee, rot and repeat it all again, and over time, that’s what causes tooth decay.
So they eat, wee, rot, repeat. Eat, wee, rot, repeat.
And all you have to do to stop that process is brush twice a day and eat less sugary food! More here.