Dental Deposits · Indigo CP

1What & why

Four deposits, one question: can you polish it off?

Four things accumulate on teeth, and the exam wants you to know each one's personality: how it forms, whether it's soft or hard — and, the money question, whether a coronal polish can remove it.

The one-line answer you'll use over and over: polishing removes the soft stuff. Once a deposit mineralizes, it's out of your hands.

2The four deposits

Pellicle → plaque → calculus.

The depositCan polishing remove it?

PellicleA thin, colorless protein film from saliva that coats teeth within minutes of cleaning.

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Yes — and it instantly re-formsforms within minutes; bacteria attach to it to start plaque

🦠Plaque (biofilm)A soft, sticky, colorless mat of living bacteria — the cause of caries and gingivitis.

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Yes — a prime targetsoft & sticky; the disease-causing biofilm

tooth with hard crusty mineralized calculus

CalculusMineralized (hardened) plaque — "tartar." Attaches firmly above or below the gumline.

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No. Requires scalinghardened plaque; only instruments (dentist/hygienist) remove it

Materia albaA loose, white, cottage-cheese-like mass of food debris and bacteria.

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Yes — rinses/wipes away easilyloosely attached; even a water spray shifts it

Disclosing agentA harmless dye, supplied as a liquid solution or a chewable tablet, that stains soft deposits so plaque and pellicle become visible.

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Makes plaque visibleused before polishing to reveal deposits, and after to confirm they are gone

Top row: three teeth showing a barely visible pellicle film, then a soft pale-yellow plaque layer at the gumline, then a hard crusty mineralised calculus ridge. Bottom row: two cross-sectioned teeth, one with a deposit above the gumline and one with a deposit below it on the root inside the gum pocket. — **Soft becomes hard, and hard stops being yours to remove.** Pellicle returns within minutes of polishing and plaque colonises it; once plaque mineralises into calculus, no cup and no paste will shift it. **Supragingival** sits above the gumline, **subgingival** clings to the root inside the pocket — both are scaling, not polishing.

3Make it stick

Soft comes off. Hard stays on.

The life story of a tooth surface: pellicle forms in minutes → bacteria colonize it into plaque → minerals from saliva harden plaque into calculus. Catch it in the first two stages and a polish handles it. Miss the window, and it's the hygienist's scaler — not your rubber cup.

4Beat the exam

"Forms within minutes of polishing"→the pellicle — you can’t keep it off

"Soft, sticky biofilm of bacteria"→plaque — the cause of caries and gingivitis

"Mineralized / calcified plaque"→calculus — polishing cannot remove it

"White, loosely attached, easily rinsed away"→materia alba

"Which deposit requires scaling?"→calculus — dentist or hygienist only

"What does a disclosing agent stain?"→soft deposits — plaque and pellicle. Not calculus, and not the tooth itself

"What forms does it come in?"→solution (liquid) and tablet (chewable)

"How do you confirm the polish is complete?"→re-apply the disclosing agent — no remaining colour means no remaining soft deposit

5Check yourself

Which deposit CANNOT be removed by coronal polishing?

Calculus. It’s mineralized — hard — and firmly attached. Removing it is scaling, which belongs to the dentist or hygienist.

5Check yourself

The thin protein film that re-forms on teeth within minutes after polishing is the:

The acquired pellicle. It comes straight from saliva, needs no bacteria, and returns within minutes — which is why plaque control is a daily habit, not a one-time event.

Recap

The whole thing in 5 lines.

✓Pellicle: salivary protein film, re-forms in minutes — removable, but instantly back.
✓Plaque: soft, sticky, living biofilm — polishing’s prime target.
✓Calculus: mineralized plaque — only scaling removes it.
✓Materia alba: loose white debris — rinses away easily.
✓Rule of thumb: soft comes off, hard stays on.