Tartar is hardened plaque that bonds to your teeth so firmly it cannot be brushed or flossed away at home. Once plaque mineralizes into tartar, a dental professional with specialized scaling tools is the only reliable way to fully remove it. That said, there’s plenty you can do to slow tartar buildup, remove the plaque that causes it, and keep your teeth cleaner between cleanings.
Why Tartar Can’t Be Brushed Off
Plaque is a soft, sticky film of bacteria that forms on your teeth throughout the day. When plaque sits on your teeth long enough without being removed, minerals from your saliva (calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, and magnesium phosphate) crystallize into it, turning it into a rock-hard deposit called tartar or calculus. At that point, the material is literally mineralized onto the tooth surface. No toothbrush, no amount of scrubbing, and no rinse can dissolve it.
This distinction matters because most home remedies you’ll find online work against plaque, not tartar. If you can see or feel rough, yellowish or brownish buildup along your gumline that doesn’t come off when you brush, that’s tartar, and it needs professional removal.
What Happens at a Professional Cleaning
Dental hygienists remove tartar through a process called scaling. They use either handheld metal instruments or an ultrasonic scaler that vibrates at high frequency to break the calcified deposits off your teeth, including below the gumline where tartar tends to hide. For people with significant buildup or early gum disease, a deeper procedure called root planing smooths the root surfaces so gums can reattach more tightly.
A standard cleaning typically takes 30 to 60 minutes and isn’t painful for most people, though areas with heavy tartar or inflamed gums can be sensitive. Most adults benefit from professional cleanings every six months, but your dentist may recommend every three to four months if you’re prone to rapid buildup or have signs of gum disease.
Why DIY Scrapers Are Risky
Metal dental scalers are widely sold online, and it’s tempting to try scraping tartar off yourself. This is genuinely risky without training. The sharp instruments can scratch your enamel, which leads to increased tooth sensitivity and creates rough spots where future plaque accumulates even faster. You can also cut or traumatize your gum tissue, and damaged gums can recede permanently, exposing sensitive tooth roots.
One of the less obvious dangers is accidentally pushing tartar beneath the gumline. When that happens, bacteria get trapped in a pocket between the tooth and gum, which can cause a gum abscess or accelerate infection. Professional hygienists train for years to use these tools at the correct angle and pressure. Saving money on a cleaning by injuring your teeth or gums usually costs more in the long run.
Home Methods That Actually Help
You can’t remove existing tartar at home, but you can aggressively manage the plaque that turns into tartar. This is the single most effective thing you can do between dental visits.
Baking Soda Toothpaste
Baking soda is one of the best-studied ingredients for plaque removal. A 2017 review found that toothpaste containing baking soda was more effective at reducing plaque than traditional toothpaste. It’s abrasive enough to scrub plaque off but falls within safe abrasivity levels, meaning it won’t wear down your enamel. Baking soda also raises the pH in your mouth, which counteracts the acidic environment that bacteria thrive in and helps prevent the mineral loss that weakens enamel. Research shows it significantly reduces levels of the primary cavity-causing bacteria in the mouth.
You can buy a baking soda toothpaste or make a paste by mixing a small amount of baking soda with water and brushing with it a few times a week. Don’t add lemon juice or vinegar to the mix. Enamel starts breaking down when the pH in your mouth drops below about 5.1 to 5.5, and acids push you right into that danger zone.
Tartar-Control Toothpaste
Look for toothpastes labeled “tartar control” that contain pyrophosphates or zinc citrate. Pyrophosphates work by binding to the calcium on your tooth surfaces, which blocks new calcium phosphate crystals from forming. In simple terms, they interfere with the exact mineralization process that turns plaque into tartar. Zinc works through a different mechanism, inhibiting crystal growth while also reducing the bacterial film itself. Neither ingredient removes tartar that’s already there, but both slow down new buildup between cleanings.
Thorough Daily Brushing and Flossing
Tartar forms fastest in spots where plaque lingers longest: behind your lower front teeth, along your gumline, and between teeth that are hard to reach. Brushing twice a day for two full minutes with a soft-bristled or electric toothbrush covers the accessible surfaces. Flossing once a day clears the tight spaces between teeth where your brush can’t reach. An antiseptic mouthwash after brushing can further reduce the bacterial load in your mouth, giving plaque less of a foothold.
Why Tartar Buildup Matters Beyond Cosmetics
Tartar isn’t just unsightly. Its rough, porous surface gives bacteria an ideal place to colonize, right against your gums. Over time, this leads to gingivitis (red, swollen, bleeding gums), and if left untreated, it can progress to periodontitis, a serious infection that destroys the bone supporting your teeth and eventually causes tooth loss.
The consequences extend beyond your mouth. The American Academy of Periodontology notes that several studies link periodontal disease to increased risk of heart disease, likely because chronic inflammation in the gums triggers inflammatory processes elsewhere in the body. Periodontitis can also worsen existing heart conditions. Keeping tartar under control is one of those rare health measures that protects both your teeth and your broader cardiovascular health.
How to Slow Tartar Between Cleanings
Some people mineralize plaque faster than others due to saliva chemistry, so even with perfect brushing habits, tartar can still form. The goal is to minimize it. A practical routine looks like this:
- Brush twice daily with a tartar-control or baking soda toothpaste for a full two minutes, angling bristles toward the gumline.
- Floss once daily, paying extra attention to your lower front teeth and upper molars where tartar accumulates fastest.
- Rinse with an antiseptic mouthwash to reduce bacteria that brushing and flossing miss.
- Limit sugary and starchy snacking, which feeds the bacteria that produce the acidic environment plaque thrives in.
- Stay on schedule with professional cleanings so tartar gets removed before it can cause gum damage.
If you notice tartar building up quickly between visits, mention it to your dentist. More frequent cleanings, changes in toothpaste, or adjustments to your brushing technique can make a real difference in how much calculus accumulates.