Once tartar has hardened onto your teeth, you cannot safely remove it yourself. Only a dental professional can do that. But you can prevent most tartar from forming in the first place, and understanding why it builds up helps you keep it under control between cleanings.
Why You Can’t Remove Tartar at Home
Tartar (also called calculus) is 75 to 85 percent inorganic mineral, mostly calcium phosphate in the same crystalline form found in your bones and tooth enamel. It bonds directly to the tooth surface, and no amount of brushing or flossing will break that bond once it’s set. This is what makes tartar fundamentally different from plaque, the soft, sticky film of bacteria you wipe away every time you brush. Plaque is the precursor. When plaque sits on your teeth long enough, minerals from your saliva crystallize within it, and it hardens into tartar.
You may have seen “dental scraper kits” sold online for at-home use. These are the same sharp, pointed instruments hygienists train for years to use safely. Without that training, you risk scratching your enamel (which increases sensitivity), cutting your gums (which can lead to gum recession and expose sensitive roots), or accidentally pushing tartar beneath the gumline, where it can cause infections or abscesses. The savings aren’t worth the damage.
How a Dentist Removes Tartar
Professional removal involves a procedure called scaling. Your hygienist uses either hand-held scalers, thin metal instruments with curved tips, or ultrasonic instruments that vibrate at high frequency to shatter calculus deposits while spraying water to flush the debris. For tartar that has crept below the gumline, a deeper cleaning called root planing smooths the root surfaces of your teeth so plaque and tartar are less likely to reattach.
A standard scaling during a routine cleaning takes about 30 to 60 minutes. If you have significant buildup below the gumline, your dentist may split the work across two visits and numb sections of your mouth for comfort. After a deep cleaning, mild soreness and gum sensitivity for a few days is normal.
How Often You Need Professional Cleaning
The familiar “every six months” guideline is a reasonable starting point, but there’s no single schedule that fits everyone. A systematic review cited by the American Dental Association found no consensus on the ideal recall frequency for preventing gum disease or cavities, largely because people vary so much in how quickly they accumulate tartar. Some people build heavy deposits in three months; others stay relatively clean for a year. Your dentist can assess your rate of buildup and recommend a schedule based on your individual risk.
What Makes Some People Build Tartar Faster
Tartar formation isn’t purely about how well you brush. Your saliva chemistry plays a major role. Saliva that’s more alkaline (higher pH) and richer in calcium and phosphate provides more raw material for mineralization. This is why tartar tends to accumulate heaviest on the inside surfaces of your lower front teeth and the outer surfaces of your upper molars: those spots sit right next to the openings of your major salivary glands, where mineral-rich saliva flows most freely.
Diet matters too. Diets high in protein tend to raise oral alkalinity, which speeds up calculus formation. Salivary flow rate, age, and certain systemic diseases also influence how quickly deposits form. Even your oral bacteria contribute: some bacterial enzymes break down natural calcification inhibitors in saliva, essentially removing the brakes on the mineralization process. If you’ve always been a “heavy tartar builder” despite good brushing habits, your biology is likely a significant factor.
How to Prevent Tartar From Forming
Since tartar starts as plaque, your primary defense is removing plaque before it mineralizes. Brush twice a day for two full minutes, making sure to angle your bristles toward the gumline where plaque collects. Floss or use interdental brushes daily to clean the surfaces your toothbrush can’t reach. An electric toothbrush with a timer can help if you tend to rush.
Tartar-control toothpastes offer a measurable edge. The active ingredients in most formulas are pyrophosphates (tetrasodium pyrophosphate or disodium pyrophosphate), which block calcium phosphate crystals from forming on your teeth. Some formulas use zinc citrate instead. After you brush with a zinc-containing toothpaste, zinc levels in your saliva stay elevated for several hours and continue to inhibit crystal growth. Neither ingredient removes existing tartar, but both are effective at slowing new buildup between dental visits.
Antiseptic mouthwashes can reduce the bacterial load in your mouth, giving plaque less of a foothold. Look for products with the ADA Seal of Acceptance, which means they’ve been independently tested for safety and effectiveness.
Why Tartar Removal Matters for Overall Health
Tartar itself doesn’t just look bad. Its rough, porous surface gives bacteria a protected place to thrive right against your gum tissue, driving chronic inflammation. Left unchecked, this leads to gingivitis and eventually periodontitis, where the bone supporting your teeth begins to break down.
The consequences may extend beyond your mouth. Chronic oral inflammation can increase inflammatory markers in your bloodstream and allow oral bacteria to enter your circulation. Significant associations have been established between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and several cancers. The relationship with diabetes is particularly notable because it runs in both directions: uncontrolled blood sugar worsens gum disease, and active gum disease makes blood sugar harder to control.
Researchers caution that these associations don’t prove that gum disease directly causes these conditions, since shared risk factors like smoking and poor diet could explain some of the overlap. Still, keeping tartar in check removes a persistent source of inflammation, and that’s a straightforward win for your health regardless of how the research on causation ultimately settles.