C

Dental plaque is essentially a dense biofilm of bacteria; structural and compositional studies show that microorganisms make up the great majority (≈70-80 % of the dry mass) of the plaque matrix, far outnumbering mineral deposits, food remnants or host cells [Theilade, 1977, PMID 275275; Rosan & Lamont, 2000, PMID 11113379].