![]() While these ingredients and products are readily available at any local grocery or pharmacy, we recommend speaking with your dentist about removing tartar rather than attempting at-home methods. You may be tempted by "do it yourself" tartar-removal products, like dental tool kits or "natural" remedies, such as strawberries, vinegar, or sesame seeds. While you may be wondering how to remove tartar from your teeth without a dentist, it is best to seek help from a dental professional for a clean and accurate job! Once plaque hardens into tartar, a toothbrush can't remove it. Tartar can negatively affect your oral health, so it's essential to keep it at bay. Retrieved from ĭo you have a dental question for Laurena? Email and let us know what’s on your mind.Plaque, a sticky substance of bacteria and sugars, can harden and turn into tartar, also known as dental calculus. (2006) Biofilms, a new approach to the microbiology of dental plaque. It is important to keep a good balance of the good bacteria in your mouth through low-sugar diet, brushing twice a day, flossing (or using a water flosser), avoiding tobacco use, and of course, visiting your dental hygienist!Ĭate, J. Oral bacteria and inflammation (bleeding gums) is related to a variety of systemic issues in our body such as heart infections, cardiovascular disease, pregnancy complications, pneumonia, and Alzheimer’s disease. Your mouth is basically its own ecosystem. Some of these microbes are good, and some are bad. Our mouths alone contain over 700 species of microbes (not including what’s under our gums and the bacteria that make up plaque and calculus – another 1200 species). Calculus can no longer be removed with a toothbrush and can only be removed by a professional dental cleaning using specific dental scalers and ultrasonic instruments. ![]() How and why calculus forms has many variables including oral hygiene, the type of bacteria in your mouth, drugs, medications, and tobacco use. Calculus varies in color- white, green from stain, or even dark/black deposits from iron (bleeding) in inflamed gums. Calculus is made up primarily of calcium phosphate deposits and is formed in incremental layers. Plaque builds up on our teeth naturally with our diet and saliva and is exactly why we brush our teeth at least twice a day.Īs plaque absorbs minerals from food and saliva, it begins to harden within as little as 48 hours, turning into a substance called calculus (sometimes referred to as tartar). The makeup of plaque is around 1000 microorganisms, including streptococcus mutans, a large contributor to tooth decay. Plaque is a harmful biofilm that causes inflammation, gum disease, and cavities. Plaque is what makes our teeth feel like a “sweater” in the morning before we brush our teeth. ![]() Although it is difficult to see, under our magnifying glass it is usually a white substance with the consistency of cottage cheese. Plaque is the sticky, soft, film that we brush off with a toothbrush. Plus, who doesn’t love to talk about germs? (Okay, maybe most people don’t… we’re just nerds). But in fact, they’re totally different! So let’s chat about the stuff that builds up on our teeth, why it’s relevant to oral hygiene, and how to keep it off of our teeth. Through years of discussions with patients about oral hygiene, I have come to realize that most people use the words plaque and calculus (or tartar) interchangeably. ![]()
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