Tooth tartar, also called dental calculus, is hardened dental plaque that has calcified on your teeth. It forms when the soft, sticky film of bacteria on your teeth (plaque) absorbs minerals from your saliva and solidifies into a rough, cement-like deposit. Once plaque hardens into tartar, you can’t brush or floss it away. Only a dental professional can remove it.
How Tartar Forms
Every time you eat, bacteria in your mouth feed on sugars and starches, producing a sticky film called plaque. If plaque isn’t removed through brushing and flossing, minerals in your saliva, primarily calcium and phosphate, begin to crystallize within it. This mineralization process can start within 1 to 14 days of plaque formation, and plaque typically reaches 60% to 90% calcification within about 12 days.
Your individual rate of tartar buildup depends partly on your saliva. People with higher concentrations of calcium and phosphate in their saliva, a higher salivary pH, and a faster flow rate tend to develop tartar more quickly. That’s why some people seem to build up tartar faster than others despite similar brushing habits.
Where Tartar Shows Up
There are two types of tartar, distinguished by location. Supragingival tartar sits above the gumline, where you can see it. It typically appears as a yellowish or off-white crusty deposit, most commonly on the inside surfaces of the lower front teeth and the outer surfaces of the upper molars. These spots sit right next to the openings of your salivary glands, which supply the minerals that harden plaque.
Subgingival tartar forms below the gumline, hidden in the pockets between your teeth and gums. It tends to be darker, often brown or black, because it absorbs pigments from blood and other fluids in the gum tissue. This type is more dangerous because you can’t see it, and it sits in direct contact with the tissues that support your teeth. In people who don’t have access to regular dental care, subgingival tartar can become extensive and is directly linked to progressive loss of the attachment between teeth and bone.
Why Tartar Causes Gum Disease
Tartar isn’t just a cosmetic problem. Its rough, porous surface gives bacteria an ideal place to colonize and multiply, creating a mature biofilm that’s nearly impossible to disrupt at home. Among the bacteria that thrive in tartar are species associated with serious gum infections, including those responsible for periodontitis, the advanced form of gum disease that destroys the bone holding your teeth in place.
Here’s how the damage unfolds. As harmful bacteria accumulate, your immune system sends white blood cells called neutrophils to fight the infection. Initially, these cells do their job, killing bacteria and clearing debris. But when the bacterial assault is constant, which tartar ensures, the neutrophils shift from protective to destructive. Their infection-fighting chemicals begin breaking down the gum tissue itself, creating openings that allow bacteria to invade deeper into the connective tissue beneath your gums.
Once bacteria reach the bone, the immune response triggers a process called bone resorption. Certain immune cells activate specialized bone-dissolving cells, which gradually eat away at the jawbone around the affected teeth. One particularly harmful bacterium found in tartar can actually manipulate your immune system, suppressing the body’s ability to clear the infection while simultaneously ramping up inflammation. This creates a vicious cycle: more inflammation feeds the harmful bacteria, which provoke even more inflammation.
The consequences are significant. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults aged 30 and older have some level of periodontitis, and that number climbs to roughly 60% among adults 65 and older. Men are affected more often than women, with about half of men over 30 showing signs of the disease compared to one in three women.
How Dentists Remove Tartar
Because tartar bonds firmly to tooth enamel, professional removal is the only safe and effective option. During a standard cleaning, your dentist or hygienist uses hand-held metal scalers or ultrasonic instruments to physically break tartar off the tooth surface, both above and below the gumline.
If tartar has built up significantly below the gumline, you may need a deeper procedure called scaling and root planing. This involves numbing your gums with a local anesthetic, then carefully removing all tartar deposits from the tooth roots. After scaling, the roots are smoothed (planed) to eliminate rough spots where bacteria and tartar tend to reattach. In some cases, antibiotics are applied directly around the tooth roots or prescribed orally to help control infection afterward. The procedure is usually done in one or two visits, sometimes treating one half of the mouth at a time, and gum tenderness typically subsides within a few days.
Why You Shouldn’t Try Removing Tartar at Home
Dental scrapers and ultrasonic devices marketed for home use might seem tempting, but using them without training carries real risks. Metal tools in untrained hands can gouge tooth enamel, causing permanent sensitivity and making teeth more vulnerable to decay. They can also cut your gums, leading to bleeding, recession, and exposure of sensitive root surfaces. Home tools are rarely sterile, so any wound you create can introduce bacteria into your bloodstream.
Perhaps the biggest danger is pushing tartar deeper beneath the gumline. Instead of solving the problem, this can trigger abscesses and accelerate bone loss. Even home ultrasonic devices can cause friction burns on gum tissue, and their vibrating tips can slip and injure your cheeks or tongue. Abrasive home remedies like baking soda, used too aggressively or too often, can erode enamel rather than protect it. Removing the visible tartar above your gumline also gives a false sense of security, since the more dangerous deposits below the gumline remain untouched.
Preventing Tartar Buildup
Tartar prevention comes down to removing plaque before it has a chance to mineralize. Brushing twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste and flossing daily are the foundation. Electric toothbrushes tend to be more effective than manual ones at disrupting plaque, particularly along the gumline. Tartar-control toothpastes contain ingredients that interfere with the crystallization process, slowing the rate at which plaque hardens.
Because tartar can begin forming in as little as 24 hours and reach significant mineralization within less than two weeks, consistency matters more than intensity. Skipping a few days of flossing gives plaque time to harden in the tight spaces between teeth where your brush can’t reach. Regular dental cleanings, typically every six months, catch any tartar that forms despite good home care. If you’re someone whose saliva chemistry makes you a heavy tartar former, your dentist may recommend cleanings every three to four months instead.