Plaque and tartar are the troublemakers lurking around your gums. Plaque is a soft, sticky film teeming with bacteria. It loves to feast on the sugars from your food, creating acids that wear down tooth enamel. If you don’t show plaque the door, it hardens into tartar – a much tougher customer that’s tricky to remove. Ignoring plaque can lead to cavities, advanced gum disease, receding gums, and even make your teeth sensitive.