Tartar is dental plaque that accumulates in different parts of the teeth and can cause serious problems, including the loss of the pieces. Learn more about it and how to eliminate it.
- Teeth with tartar: what is it
- How to remove tartar from teeth?
- How to prevent tartar
- How to floss?
- What is the most recommended type of dental floss?
- Why is floss better than chopsticks?
About 500 different species of bacteria live inside our mouths. They appear transiently after meals and are removed by brushing the teeth. If there is no good brushing, bacteria adhere to the surface of the teeth and bacterial plaque accumulates, a yellowish-white and sticky substance formed by microorganisms and bacterial products, food debris and saliva proteins. When this plaque mineralizes it is called tartar, dental calculus, tartar, etc.
Tartar is formed from dental plaque. If this is not removed by brushing, it becomes a hard, calcified deposit. In tartar there is 75% mineral matter, especially calcium and magnesium crystals from the saliva itself. It accumulates especially in the area behind the lower incisors and on the outer side of the upper molars, which is where the salivary glands flow. When it accumulates, many people wonder how to remove tartar from their teeth.
TEETH WITH TARTAR: WHAT IS IT
Tartar is a deposit of calcified dental plaque that has a tendency to form at the junction between the tooth and gum. Dental plaque is a whitish substance that adheres to the surface of the teeth and gums, product of the remains of food and bacterial flora.
Two types of tartar are distinguished:
- Subgingival. The one that forms under the gum, brown and adhered to the root.
- Supragingival. The one that is above the gum, deposited in the neck of the tooth and usually lighter in coloration. Food dyes (from tea, coffee, licorice, etc.) and tobacco can pigment it.
If you do not brush your teeth after meals or regularly to remove plaque, inflammations can occur that cause the gum to bleed when you brush your teeth.
The gum separates from the teeth, reddens and becomes painful. Pockets occur around the teeth and inflammation affects the inner tissues of the bone surrounding the tooth. This bone can atrophy and teeth can lose support, move, become infected and fall out.
Whether tartar forms more or less quickly depends on a number of factors:
- The quality of brushing. It is necessary to brush your teeth after meals, using dental floss and interproximal brushes if necessary.
- Saliva (pH, quantity, thickness…)
- Exogenous factors (tobacco and certain medications, such as antidepressants or antihypertensives, which can induce a decrease or suppression of salivary flow and thus favor the tendency to accumulate tartar).
- Lack of teeth or misaligned teeth that make it difficult to brush well.
- People who breathe through their mouths tend to have more inflamed gums.
- Food. It is advisable that the diet provides vitamins C, D and E, as well as protein, calcium and phosphorus.
- Systemic ailments, such as diabetes, liver, autoimmune or anemia.
- Pregnancy or menstruation.
HOW TO REMOVE TARTAR FROM TEETH?
The removal of tartar is necessary to perform it at least once every year, since the one that forms under the gums can be harmful to the tooth and gums. It is carried out with an ultrasonic device and manual instruments. This process is harmless to the tooth. After treatment the gum may be a little sensitive to cold and heat, acids and sweets. This sensitivity can be avoided with the use of a non-abrasive toothpaste.
How to prevent tartar
To prevent tartar, it is useful to:
- Brush your teeth after every meal.
- Flossing for good interdental hygiene.
- Eat balanced.
- No smoking.
- At least one annual visit to the dentist is necessary to prevent problems. Periodontal disease is silent and is only detected at dental check-ups.
- Black poplar rinses drag tartar and rotting food debris from the interdental spaces.
HOW TO FLOSS?
Flossing has been used since the late nineteenth century, on the initiative of a New Orleans dentist who indicated floss, to remove food debris and bacterial plaque.
When nylon was discovered in the middle of the last century, much more resistant and elastic, its use in the manufacture of dental floss, as a substitute for silk, became widespread.
In Spain, however, it is often called dental floss even if it is made of nylon or plastic.
Brushing cleans the external and internal faces, and the masticatory surface, but not the areas of contact between teeth, where the floss exerts its action.
Its use is so important that there is a verb in English, to floss, which means “to pass the thread between the teeth”.
The technique requires some practice. Ideally, your dentist or dental hygienist should explain how to use it.
- About 50 cm of thread is cut.
- They are wound around the middle fingers, leaving about 2-3 cm between them
- It is tightened with the thumb and index finger of each hand.
- It is passed between the teeth, being careful not to injure the gum. This is done between all the teeth and also on the back walls of the last molars.
If the gums bleed it may be a sign that professional dental hygiene is necessary, or that the floss is not used gently. A dentist can check it out to advise you on the most suitable brush for you.
WHAT IS THE MOST RECOMMENDED TYPE OF DENTAL FLOSS?
There are several types of dental floss on the market:
- With wax, to pass more easily between the teeth. It is the most advisable.
- No wax. In addition to being more laborious to make it go through the interdental space, if the dental floss frays there may be a cavity, tartar, fillings or poorly adjusted prostheses, so it is preferable to avoid this risk.
- Dental tape, wider, recommended for large interdental spaces.
- Flossing threaders, to clean under bridges or in the case of wearing fixed orthodontics.
WHY IS FLOSS BETTER THAN CHOPSTICKS?
If you are not going to floss, or if there is an element trapped between two pieces, it is highly recommended to use small interdental brushes to clean between the teeth.
They exert the function of traditional chopsticks and should replace them because the chopsticks create a lever effect and if they are made of wood they can break into chips, incurring all the problems already mentioned in case the dental floss leaves residues between the teeth, in addition to being able to dig into the gum, producing wounds and infections.
