Tartar is hardened dental plaque that you cannot brush or floss away once it has fully formed. If plaque sits on your teeth for about two weeks without being removed, it mineralizes into a calcium phosphate deposit that bonds tightly to enamel. At that point, only a dental professional can safely and fully remove it. That said, there are steps you can take at home to slow tartar buildup and deal with very early-stage deposits before they harden completely.
How Tartar Forms on Your Teeth
Every time you eat, bacteria in your mouth feed on sugars and starches, producing a sticky, colorless film called plaque. Plaque starts accumulating within hours of brushing, and it is soft enough at this stage to remove with a toothbrush and floss. If it stays undisturbed, minerals from your saliva begin crystallizing within the plaque. After roughly two weeks, the deposit hardens into tartar (also called calculus), a rough, porous shell that clings to the tooth surface.
Tartar tends to accumulate fastest near the openings of salivary glands, which is why you often feel a crusty buildup on the inside of your lower front teeth and the outer surfaces of your upper molars. Once tartar forms, its rough texture creates an ideal surface for even more plaque to stick to, accelerating the cycle.
What Happens If Tartar Stays on Your Teeth
Left in place, tartar pushes plaque and bacteria beneath the gumline where brushing and flossing can’t reach. This triggers a progression of gum disease that starts with mild inflammation (gingivitis) and, over months to years, advances through increasingly serious stages.
- Mild periodontitis: Bacteria work beneath the gums and begin affecting the bone that supports your teeth. Gums pull away and form pockets that trap more bacteria.
- Moderate periodontitis: The ligaments, soft tissues, and bone holding teeth in place start to break down. Bad breath, pus along the gumline, and noticeable gum recession are common at this stage.
- Advanced periodontitis: Teeth loosen and may need to be extracted. The tartar deposits at this depth are so far below the gumline that a standard cleaning can no longer reach them.
Gum disease is not just a cosmetic issue. It is one of the leading causes of tooth loss in adults, and the chronic inflammation it creates has been linked to broader health concerns including heart disease and diabetes complications.
Home Methods That May Slow Buildup
No home remedy can remove fully hardened tartar the way a dental scaler can. However, some approaches can reduce the rate at which new tartar forms and may help with very early, partially mineralized deposits.
Baking soda is mildly abrasive and can help scrub away soft plaque before it calcifies. Mixing a small amount with water to form a paste and brushing with it once or twice a week is a common approach. It will not chip away established tartar, but it creates a less hospitable environment for plaque because it raises the pH in your mouth temporarily.
White vinegar diluted in warm salt water is sometimes used as a rinse. The acidity can interfere with mineralization, but you should limit use to a few times per week since frequent acid exposure softens enamel over time. Swish for about a minute, then rinse your mouth with plain water afterward.
Tartar-control toothpastes are one of the more evidence-backed options. Many contain pyrophosphates, compounds that block calcium from crystallizing onto plaque. Studies show that pyrophosphate-based toothpastes and zinc-based rinses both reduce new tartar formation by about 21 percent compared to regular products. That is not a dramatic number, but over months of daily use, it meaningfully slows accumulation between dental visits.
Why DIY Scrapers Are Risky
Metal dental scalers are widely sold online, and it is tempting to try scraping tartar off yourself. Dentists and hygienists train extensively to use these instruments safely, and without that training, the risks are real. You can scratch your enamel, which increases tooth sensitivity and creates grooves where bacteria collect more easily. You can cut or traumatize gum tissue, leading to gum recession that exposes sensitive root surfaces. You can injure your cheeks or tongue. Perhaps worst of all, you can accidentally push tartar beneath the gumline, where it seeds infections and gum abscesses that are far harder to treat than the tartar itself.
If you can feel a thick ridge of buildup along your teeth, that deposit is almost certainly too hard and too firmly bonded for safe removal at home. Attempting to pry it off with a metal tool risks trading one problem for several worse ones.
What Professional Removal Looks Like
A standard dental cleaning involves a hygienist using ultrasonic instruments and hand scalers to remove tartar above and just below the gumline. The ultrasonic tool vibrates rapidly and sprays water to break deposits loose, while hand scalers address spots the ultrasonic can’t reach. Most people experience mild pressure and occasional sensitivity during the process, but it is not painful for the majority of patients.
If tartar has migrated deep below the gumline, you may need a deeper procedure called scaling and root planing. This involves numbing the area, cleaning tartar from the root surfaces, and smoothing the roots so gums can reattach more easily. The procedure is typically done one or two quadrants of the mouth at a time, with the national average cost running about $242 per quadrant, though it can range from $185 to $444 depending on your location and the severity of buildup. Most dental insurance plans cover at least a portion of this when gum disease is documented.
Recovery from scaling and root planing usually involves a few days of gum tenderness and sensitivity to hot and cold. Your dentist may recommend a follow-up visit four to six weeks later to check whether the gum pockets have started to shrink.
How to Prevent Tartar From Coming Back
Since plaque takes roughly two weeks to harden, your daily routine is the single biggest factor in tartar prevention. Brushing twice a day with a soft-bristled or electric toothbrush removes the bulk of plaque. Electric toothbrushes with oscillating heads tend to be more effective at disrupting plaque along the gumline than manual brushing alone. Flossing once a day clears plaque from the tight spaces between teeth where bristles cannot reach.
Switching to a tartar-control toothpaste with pyrophosphates gives you an additional edge by chemically interfering with mineralization. Adding an antiseptic or zinc-based mouthrinse provides a similar benefit and can reach areas you might miss while brushing.
Diet plays a role too. Sugary and starchy foods feed the bacteria that produce plaque, while crunchy raw vegetables and fibrous foods help physically scrub tooth surfaces as you chew. Drinking water throughout the day helps rinse away food particles and keeps saliva flowing, which naturally buffers acids in your mouth.
There is no single recommended frequency for professional cleanings that works for everyone. Some people build tartar quickly due to the mineral content of their saliva, their diet, or genetic factors, and may benefit from cleanings every three to four months. Others do well with visits every six to twelve months. The best schedule depends on how fast you personally accumulate buildup and whether you have any signs of gum disease. If you notice tartar forming visibly between visits, that is a signal to shorten the interval.