Author: Lizzie Smith – blog last updated on Tuesday 9th January 2024
Do you suffer from tartar and want to try to remove it yourself? All in a way that’s as cost-effective and safe as possible.
In this blog, we’ll discuss what you can and can’t do to remove tartar yourself without damaging your gums.
We all want to keep our teeth as white as possible, don’t we? But one of the main threats to achieving those beautiful, pearly white teeth is tartar. Tartar is a thin, almost invisible layer that forms on your teeth, consisting of food residues, saliva, and bacteria. In a nutshell, tartar is the calcified version of dental plaque. It’s also why we brush our teeth twice daily because plaque that isn’t removed daily hardens into tartar.
Why’s tartar removal so important?
As well as discolouration, tartar harms your teeth because it roughens the surface of the tooth enamel. The smoothness of your tooth enamel protects against oral bacteria, preventing it from settling in the raw tartar. Together with saliva and food residues, this bacteria can form dental plaque, which then turns into tartar.
Tartar isn’t limited to the visible tooth enamel either. It can also grow under the gum line and cause pockets and cavities between the dentine and gums. These areas give the bacteria even more opportunity to hide and multiply, which can ultimately lead to gum disease (gingivitis) and tooth decay. But the good news is you can prevent this by regularly removing tartar from your teeth.
Tartar removal. Having someone do it for you
To remove tartar, it’s usual for a dentist or dental hygienist to clean your teeth twice a year. Then, depending on the amount of tartar on your teeth, it will be removed mechanically with a dental hook or a device. Your dental professional will then clean your teeth, keeping your teeth free of plaque for longer and giving you a wonderfully fresh feeling at the same time.
Tartar removal. Doing it yourself
Most people prefer to remove tartar themselves as it’s a more cost-effective option than going to a dental practitioner. However, some want to keep their teeth as white as possible, so they will want to immediately remove the first deposits of tartar as soon as they arise.
Whilst removing tartar using acids such as vinegar and lemon juice may be cheap, it’s also a bad idea. Acids make the tartar porous, so you can easily remove it, but they also negatively affect your tooth enamel.
If you have the right dental tools and a steady hand, it’s certainly possible to remove visible tartar yourself. However, the sub-gingival tartar hidden under your gums is more challenging, and you won’t be able to remove this yourself without damaging the gums. So even if you do remove your visible tartar yourself, you aren’t entirely relieved of having to have your teeth cleaned by a dentist or dental hygienist.
Finding the right dental tools to remove tartar yourself
You can safely remove supra-gingival (visible) tartar yourself with the following two instruments:
- The Moist-R Whitening Sponge cleans your teeth safely, gently and deeply. This innovative pen uses the absorbency of nano-particles, which, when they come into contact with water, form nano-capillary tubes that effectively erase contamination from the teeth. Using this method, you can expect your dental plaque to disappear after a few uses. However, you’ll have to use the sponge more intensively to remove tartar and discolourations.
- A more traditional way to remove tartar is the Profi Dental Hook, a complete set of two dental hooks and a mouth mirror that can’t fog up. These are the same stainless steel tools your dentist uses. The hooks contain different ends, ranging from sharp hooks to a rubber tip for massaging the gums.
Preventing tartar
As we mentioned earlier, tartar starts in your mouth as plaque. So it’s essential to remove your dental plaque thoroughly. Less plaque means less tartar that needs to be removed.
You can achieve this through good basic oral hygiene. Brush your teeth twice daily for two minutes, preferably with an electric toothbrush.
The ingredients of your toothpaste are also essential. So instead of using cheap toothpaste containing caustic or aggressive ingredients, choose a mild toothpaste, such as RyttPro Toothpaste Magic Mint. The powerful formula OZ-3X effectively removes dental plaque without affecting your oral flora’s natural balance. This toothpaste also contains fluoride and hydrated silicon to remineralize your teeth and protect against caries.
RyttPro Toothpaste doesn’t contain harsh antiseptics or harmful chemicals such as phthalates, sulfates, parabens or unnecessary dyes. It foams gently, thanks to a mild foaming agent based on coconut instead of the caustic SLS (sodium lauryl sulphate), and its soft mint-lemon flavour gives an instantly fresh, clean taste.
After brushing your teeth, rinse your mouth with mouthwash to help fight against dental plaque and tartar. Using a mouthwash gives your teeth an extra clean and can reach the places your toothbrush can’t. When buying a mouthwash, remember to pay close attention to the ingredients. With RyttPro Oral Rinse, you’re in safe hands.
Like the accompanying toothpaste, this mouthwash is designed to fight harmful bacteria with safe ingredients. These support the oral flora, so it’s suitable for everyday use. In addition, RyttPro mouthwash doesn’t contain unnecessary dyes or harmful chemicals such as alcohol, phthalates, parabens and SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate).
RyttPro Oral Rinse has a pleasant mint-lemon flavour, giving you fresh breath and a clean mouth.
Want to do even more to remove plaque and prevent tartar?
As well as good daily oral hygiene, you might also want to look at other ways to prevent tartar. To keep your teeth as white as possible (as safely as possible), we highly recommend the following two products:
- Oral icon Foam & Toothpaste protects your teeth by safely fighting harmful bacteria. Fewer bacteria equal less dental plaque, meaning less tartar. In one go, it whitens your teeth by neutralizing the yellowish tones.
- Duelle Teeth Whitening powder is an innovative mild whitening method that uses the bleaching ingredient is PAP (phthalimide peroxy-caproic acid). It also contains the minerals HAP (hydroxyapatite) and calcium carbonate to protect and strengthen your teeth.
Finally…
By following the advice in this blog, you can optimally care for your teeth and gums and prevent tartar as much as possible. Nevertheless, the results will also depend on other factors, including your diet and the composition of your saliva.
If you do decide to remove tartar yourself, be careful. It’s also prudent to visit your dentist or dental hygienist occasionally because they can remove any sub-gingival tartar. Also, in case of gingivitis, you should consult your dentist.
Sources
British Dental Association: Myth busters on brushing your teeth
Algarni, A. A. et al., (2018). Trend-analysis of dental hard-tissue conditions as a function of tooth age. PubMed.