Tartar, the hardened mineral deposit that forms on teeth, can only be safely removed by a dental professional. Once plaque calcifies into tartar, no amount of brushing or flossing will break it loose. A dentist or hygienist uses specialized instruments to scrape or vibrate it off your teeth, both above and below the gumline.
What Tartar Actually Is
Tartar (also called calculus) starts as plaque, the soft bacterial film that coats your teeth throughout the day. When plaque sits on a tooth long enough, minerals from your saliva harden it into a chalky, cement-like deposit. This can happen in as little as 24 to 72 hours. Once calcified, tartar bonds tightly to enamel and root surfaces, creating a rough texture that attracts even more plaque.
Tartar above the gumline is usually yellowish or off-white. Below the gumline, it tends to be darker, sometimes brown or black, because it absorbs pigments from blood in inflamed gum tissue. That subgingival tartar is the more damaging kind. Research shows it doesn’t just harbor bacteria; tartar particles themselves trigger inflammatory signals that can break down gum tissue and accelerate bone loss around teeth. In one study, 70% of inflamed sites inside gum pockets were associated with calculus deposits only visible under magnification.
Routine Cleaning: What Happens
A standard professional cleaning, sometimes called prophylaxis, targets tartar above the gumline and just at the gum edge. Your hygienist works through your mouth tooth by tooth using one of two main instrument types.
Hand scalers and curettes are thin metal tools with a sharp, curved tip. The hygienist positions the blade against the tartar deposit and uses controlled strokes to pry it away from the tooth surface. Different blade shapes reach different areas: flat surfaces, tight spaces between teeth, and just beneath the gum margin.
Ultrasonic scalers vibrate at high frequencies and spray a fine mist of water at the same time. The vibration shatters tartar on contact, and the water flushes debris away. Many hygienists use ultrasonic instruments for the bulk of the work, then switch to hand tools for detail work in harder-to-reach spots. Both approaches are equally effective at removing calculus; the choice often comes down to the hygienist’s preference and the location of the deposit.
After scaling, your teeth are polished with a mildly abrasive paste to smooth out any remaining roughness. Smoother surfaces make it harder for new plaque to stick.
Deep Cleaning for Tartar Below the Gumline
When tartar has migrated well below the gumline and gum pockets have deepened, a routine cleaning isn’t enough. The procedure at this stage is called scaling and root planing, often referred to as a “deep cleaning.” Your dentist or hygienist will numb your gums with a local anesthetic before starting, since the instruments need to reach deep beneath the tissue.
Scaling removes tartar from both the visible tooth surface and the root surfaces hidden inside gum pockets. Root planing goes a step further: the hygienist smooths the root surface itself, eliminating tiny grooves where bacteria lodge. This gives gum tissue a clean, smooth surface to reattach to as it heals. In some cases, your provider may place antibiotics directly around the tooth roots or prescribe oral antibiotics after the procedure.
Deep cleanings are typically done in two visits, treating one side of the mouth at a time. The whole process for each visit usually takes 45 minutes to an hour, though heavily affected mouths can take longer.
What Recovery Feels Like
Some tooth sensitivity and gum soreness after a cleaning is normal, especially after a deep cleaning. Your gums may bleed slightly when you brush for a few days. Sensitivity to hot, cold, or sweet foods is common because removing tartar can expose parts of the root that were previously covered.
For most people, this sensitivity resolves on its own within about two weeks as gum tissue heals and reattaches. If it lingers beyond that, a desensitizing toothpaste containing potassium nitrate or stannous fluoride can help by blocking nerve signals or sealing exposed channels in the tooth surface. Sensitivity that worsens after several weeks rather than improving is worth a follow-up call to your dentist.
Why DIY Tartar Removal Is Risky
Dental scaling tools are sold online, and plenty of videos show people scraping tartar off their own teeth. This is a genuinely bad idea, for several specific reasons. Without training, you can scratch your enamel, which causes lasting sensitivity. You can slice into gum tissue, which leads to recession that exposes vulnerable root surfaces. You can also accidentally push tartar or bacteria deeper under the gumline, potentially triggering an abscess or worsening an existing infection.
Professional hygienists train for years to use these instruments at the correct angle, with the right pressure, in areas they can actually see or feel with a dental explorer. Replicating that with a mirror in your bathroom and no magnification simply doesn’t work safely.
Preventing Tartar From Forming
Since tartar starts as plaque, the goal is to remove plaque before it mineralizes. Brushing twice a day and flossing once a day handles most of it. An electric toothbrush with a two-minute timer helps reach areas that manual brushing tends to miss, particularly along the gumline and behind the lower front teeth, where tartar builds up fastest due to proximity to saliva glands.
Tartar-control toothpastes contain ingredients that slow the mineralization process. The most effective formulations use a combination of pyrophosphates and a copolymer, which in clinical trials produced the largest reductions in new tartar formation over three months compared to regular toothpaste. These ingredients don’t dissolve existing tartar, but they meaningfully slow down new deposits between cleanings.
How often you need professional cleanings depends on how quickly you personally accumulate tartar and your overall gum health. The old standard of “every six months” is a reasonable baseline, but there’s no one-size-fits-all number. Some people with aggressive tartar buildup or gum disease benefit from cleanings every three to four months, while others with minimal buildup and healthy gums can go longer. Your dentist can recommend a schedule based on what they see at each visit.