Do you have any indication of what tartar is? Tartar also called calculus, combines plaque and minerals from your saliva hardening on your teeth. Tartar can accumulate on the exterior surface of the teeth and below the gum line. Tartar appears like a crusty blanket on your teeth. Tartar is porous, making it attract stains from food and beverages.
Tartar deposits often settle between and behind your teeth and have a brownish yellowish appearance. Tartar and plaque its predecessor can wreak havoc on your dental health. Combined together, tartar and plaque cause bad breath from bacterial buildup, destroy tooth enamel, the hard exterior of the teeth leading to tooth sensitivity and tooth loss, and promote gum disease.
Is It Possible to Prevent Tartar Buildup on the Teeth?
You can prevent tartar buildup on your teeth by indulging in regular teeth cleaning, as suggested by the American Dental Association. To succeed in your goal, you must brush twice daily for two minutes each. You can use a toothbrush you are comfortable with, but studies indicate a powered toothbrush is optimal for plaque and tartar removal. Using fluoride toothpaste and flossing at least once a day is also helpful to prevent tartar buildup. Unfortunately, if you let tartar harden, brushing and flossing don’t help with the removal, and you need help from a professional to eliminate it from your mouth.
Why Consider Tartar Removal from Your Teeth?
Tartar develops from plaque, a sticky substance forming regularly on your teeth. Plaque contains bacteria that produce acids attacking your tooth enamel and damaging your gums. Plaque hardens into tartar within 48 hours and, if left untreated, can cause permanent damage. Tartar doesn’t develop by itself and results from improper dental hygiene when you leave bits of plaque between your teeth or the molars. After you let tartar develop, you need tartar removing treatment from a dentist or periodontist.
Tartar, besides causing discoloration of your teeth, also results in the development of gingivitis, an infection of your gums that needs lifelong maintenance if left untreated in the initial stages. Gingivitis is the earliest stage of gum disease. It is entirely preventable by maintaining excellent dental hygiene and visiting your dentist every six months to remove plaque and tartar on teeth. However, if you ignore the minimal requirements, you invite problems like cavities, bad breath, and gingivitis.
The Results of Leaving Tartar on Your Teeth
We have already explained the consequences of leaving plaque and tartar on teeth that dentists quickly and easily remove during routine dental visits. However, if you decide to leave the accumulation untreated, you must prepare yourself to deal with the aforementioned consequences.
Gingivitis, when left untreated, progresses silently to develop into periodontal disease affecting your gums, jawbone, and dental health. Periodontal disease requires frequent dental appointments and intensive treatments to maintain the condition because it is neither reversible nor treatable. Dentists have different treatments to deal with periodontal disease, including surgical and nonsurgical options. However, dentists cannot manage periodontal disease affecting you by themselves and require equal cooperation on your part to ensure it is controlled.
Besides treatments provided by dentists, you must maintain appropriate homecare as recommended by the professional. If periodontal disease leads to tooth loss, you become ineligible to receive replacement solutions like dental implants because the condition would have affected your jawbone, making it weaker and needing bone grafts before you can have a durable option for replacing missing teeth. All this and more merely because you are allowed tartar to remain on your teeth instead of getting it removed.
Optimal Methods to Prevent the Development of Tartar
Instead of enduring multiple dental treatments bringing upon you the risks of tooth loss, why not adapt optimal methods to prevent the development of Tartar? If you intend to succeed in your goal must make up your mind not to allow plaque to remain on your teeth because it is the primary cause for tartar development.
Adopt a dental hygiene routine by removing plaque from your teeth every day by brushing them at least twice. Using an antibacterial mouthwash to expose the bacteria and kill them also functions effectively. Include six-monthly dental visits for cleanings and exams. Your dentist helps remove any buildup on your teeth and below the gum line to ensure you are free from unnecessary dental and health complications. Disregard all the above if you wish to endure substantial expenditure by letting tartar remain on your teeth.