Have you ever felt like your teeth had a soft, sticky film on them? This film is called dental plaque. It is made up of millions of bacteria that live in your mouth and eat the food and drinks you eat and drink. Plaque gets hard and forms tartar or calculus when it stays on the teeth for too long.
Tartar and plaque are bad for your oral health and should be cleaned off regularly. Even though tartar buildup can happen to anyone, it is more likely to happen to:
- Young children
- Older adults
- Smokers and tobacco users
- Those with orthodontic work
- Those suffering from dry mouth
If you think you have tartar deposits on your teeth, look in the mirror and you’ll see a rough, hard, yellow or brown substance stuck to your teeth.
Why Tartar is Bad for the Health of Your Teeth?
If you think that tartar is only a problem because it looks bad, you’re wrong. If tartar is not removed early on, it can cause a number of health and oral problems, such as:
Tooth Decay
Since most tooth decay is caused by plaque, it makes sense that tartar also causes tooth decay. When tartar builds up on the teeth, it gives bacteria more places to stick to and grow. Also, tartar makes it harder to clean your teeth, which leads to more tooth decay. If you don’t get rid of the tartar, it will keep hurting your teeth and giving you cavities.
Stained or Discoloured Teeth
When tartar builds up on your teeth, the porous surface makes it easy for stains to stick. The worst stains come from drinks like coffee, tea, and wine, as well as from smoking or chewing tobacco. Even though this is just a matter of appearance, having yellow or brown teeth can make you look bad and even hurt your social life.
Halitosis or Bad Breath
Bad breath is caused by bacteria that make volatile sulphur compounds. Bad breath can be a sign of many oral problems, like dry mouth or gum disease, but the real cause is the bacteria. When plaque hardens into tartar, you can’t just brush or floss to get rid of the bacteria in it. Because of this, bad breath stays a problem until a dentist scrapes off the tartar.
Gum Disease or Periodontitis
One of the worst things that can happen because of tartar is gum disease, also called periodontitis. When tartar builds up at the gum line, it makes the gums red and swollen. This is the first sign of gum disease, which is called gingivitis. Some signs that you might have gingivitis are:
- Swollen and tender gums
- Gums that are easy to bleed
- Bad breath
If you don’t treat gingivitis, it can turn into periodontitis, which is the main reason adults lose teeth. Plaque and tartar bacteria start to grow below the gums when gum disease gets worse. This makes the immune system fight the infection, which causes the bone and connective tissues to break down.
How to Keep Tartar from Building Up
Tartar can only be taken care of by a dentist. Plaque can be taken care of by brushing and flossing regularly. Plaque needs to be removed regularly to keep your teeth clean and free of cavities. Here are some ways to keep tartar from building up:
Brush Regularly
Even though this is a given, many people don’t brush their teeth every day. It’s important to brush your teeth at least twice a day, in the morning and at night. Make sure you brush your teeth for at least two minutes as well.
Use a soft-bristled toothbrush to clean your teeth well without hurting your gums. Also, make sure your toothbrush is small enough to clean behind the teeth and the back molars, which are hard to get to.
Clean Interdental Spaces
Even though brushing is important for your oral health, it can’t keep tartar from building up in your mouth on its own. At least once a day, you need to floss to get rid of the food and plaque that gets stuck between your teeth. If you’re not sure how to floss properly, you can read our post about it. You can also clean the spaces between your teeth with an interdental brush like Thermoseal Proxa.
Use an Antibacterial Mouthwash
Plaque is caused by the bacteria that live in the mouth, as we’ve already talked about. Plaque can be stopped by getting rid of these bacteria. An antibacterial mouthwash like Halyx Ultra can do this. Rinsing your mouth can also help with bad breath and other mouth problems. So, add an antibacterial mouthwash to your plan for good oral health.
Use a Tartar Control Toothpaste
Tartar-control toothpastes, like XTAR, are made to stop tartar from building up on your teeth. These toothpastes have chemicals in them that stop plaque from hardening into tartar. They also have a lot of fluoride, which helps make the enamel stronger and fixes the damage that bacteria does.
Even though these toothpastes can stop tartar from forming in the first place, they can’t get rid of tartar that has already formed. Because of this, they are usually given after a dental cleaning.
Biyearly Dental Visits
Most people only go to the dentist when something is wrong with their gums or teeth. But you should still see your dentist every six months, even if you don’t have any oral health problems.
During the appointment, your dentist will look at your teeth and gums to see if there is anything to worry about. If you go to the dentist regularly, you can catch problems early and take care of them before they get too bad.
Diet & Lifestyle Changes
Like the rest of your body, your teeth can be affected by what you eat. It’s important to eat healthy foods and stay away from too many sweet or starchy ones. Mouth bacteria thrive in places where there is a lot of sugar and starch. Even though this doesn’t mean you have to stop eating sweets, make sure to brush or at least rinse your mouth with water after every meal.
Some studies show that you are more likely to get tartar if you smoke or use tobacco. Also, smoking can lead to a number of health and oral problems. If you use any kind of tobacco, you should think about giving it up.
Now that you know why tartar is bad for your oral health and how to stop it from building up, you can make the right choices to improve your oral health.
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