Many people go to the dentist only if the tooth hurts or narwhal gums. But soft and hard coating is also an occasion for urgent action. It is deposits that are considered the main cause of most dental diseases. In order to keep the oral cavity clean, it is enough to visit a hygienist only several times a year or to choose an effective remedy for tartar for use at home. Read more about this in the article.
What is tartar?
Leftover food in combination with saliva form plaque. At first it is soft enough and can be easily removed during daily hygienic cleaning. But this is subject to regular and high-quality treatment of the oral cavity.
Plaque contains a huge number of bacteria. As a result of the vital activity of pathogenic microflora, acids are released. These substances have a negative effect on the soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity.
And so, if you do not remove plaque from the surface of the teeth in a timely manner or do it partially, it crystallizes. Transformation into hard deposits is also called tartar, which is not so easily removed.
Types of Tartar
Dentists classify deposits by type and location. In order to choose the right tool for removing tartar, you need to have an idea of what you have to deal with.
At the location of the deposits are subgingival and supragingival. Accordingly, the first type is difficult to notice with the naked eye. And supra-gingival deposits are fairly easy to detect by visual inspection. As a rule, they are painted in white or yellowish color, have a dense or clay structure.
Stones above the gingival border are usually formed from the components of saliva and plaque. Therefore, most often they are localized from the inside of the jaw. The formation of supragingival deposits is more susceptible to children, youth under 25 years of age. This type of stones is not uncommon in patients of dental clinics of advanced age.
Subgingival deposits carry more danger, since for a long time a person may not be aware of their existence. They have a harder structure, fit snugly to the neck of the tooth and root. Subgingival deposits in periodontal pockets are localized. Often they are found in interdental spaces.
Stones under the gums are classified as serum deposits. As a rule, they are painted in dark brown, green colors. Root deposits are diagnosed in most cases in patients whose age exceeds 40 years.
Causes of occurrence
In order for the removal of tartar by home remedies to be as successful as possible, one should also understand the reasons and factors that provoke the formation of deposits. Dentists warn that the main culprit is insufficient or improper oral hygiene. We will also consider other factors that provoke the disease:
- The presence of bad habits (alcoholism, smoking).
- Excessive consumption of carbonated drinks.
- A large amount in the diet of sweets.
- Lack of solid food.
- Taking certain medications, in particular the antibacterial group.
- An unbalanced diet.
- Addiction to products containing sweeteners, dyes.
- Excessive salivation.
- Systemic diseases that cause intensive multiplication of bacteria in the oral cavity.
Knowing about the factors that provoke the formation of hard deposits on the teeth, you can pay close attention to the prevention of the disease and minimize the appearance of stones to a minimum. Next, we’ll talk about tools to fix the problem at home.
Baking soda
The simplest remedy for tartar is soda. Its action is based on the abrasive and disinfecting properties of the powder. Soda can be used in several ways.
To remove deposits from the enamel surface, moisten the brush with water, dip it into powder and thoroughly treat the teeth from all sides. Particular attention should be paid to the inner side of the row and the distant molars. Cleaning is carried out for 3-4 minutes daily for a week.
Here is another tool: you can remove tartar with a brush and a mixture of soda and salt in equal proportions. Just before cleaning, a few drops of lemon juice are introduced into the composition. This paste is treated with all molars and incisors in a circular motion. Cleaning is carried out for several minutes, after which they thoroughly rinse your mouth with water.
Hydrogen peroxide
Another effective tool for removing tartar is a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution. The procedure is performed once a day. Pre-thoroughly brush your teeth with a paste.
Then the cotton pad is moistened with a solution and they wipe the surface of the enamel and gums. In this case, the mouth should be kept open. Peroxide reacts, begins to hiss. At this point, active oxygen is released that dissolves plaque.
After a few minutes, rinse your mouth with water and brush your teeth again with a brush and toothpaste.
Honey
Consider how to remove tartar folk remedies. Effectively softens deposits on enamel beekeeping product. In addition, natural honey is famous for its rich composition. It has many useful trace elements. Also, this product has antiseptic properties and has a regenerative effect.
To dissolve plaque after a hygienic procedure, you only need to rinse your mouth with a solution of warm water and honey (take 1 tbsp. Of product per glass). People who tried to solve the problem in this way note that the result can be observed in a week.
Linden and sunflower
For those people who want to know how to remove tartar with folk remedies, we offer another recipe. We will need dry inflorescences of sunflower and linden blossom. Plants are mixed in equal proportions. Then 4 tbsp. l the product is brewed in 0.5 l. boiling water. After half an hour, the product is filtered and used to brush your teeth.
The broth softens the plaque well, disinfects the oral cavity, strengthens the gums. The recipe is completely harmless to enamel. Therefore, it can be used for a long time - until the problem is fixed.
Radish
Many folk remedies for tartar have been tested for more than one decade. Cleansing plaque with black radish is a fairly simple, safe way.
This vegetable is recommended to eat raw. Due to its hardness, a natural cleansing of the enamel surface from deposits is provided. And the presence of phytoncides in the radish contributes to the destruction of pathogenic microflora in the oral cavity. This fact is especially important. After all, deposits of any type are simply teeming with various harmful bacteria.
However, such a remedy for tartar should be used with caution in people suffering from diseases of the digestive system (gastritis, ulcer). In this case, experts recommend simply chewing pieces of radish, but not swallowing them.
Pastes and Rinsers
It is worth noting that many folk recipes are effective only if the deposits have not yet had time to mineralize. Simply put, a positive effect can be achieved if the stones have a clay structure. Therefore, experts recommend that dentists consult such problems.
An experienced doctor will examine and select products that provide quality oral care. For example, today you can buy ready-made tools to prevent and eliminate existing deposits on enamel. These include special pastes and rinses.
Using a daily remedy for tartar at home, you can achieve good results. However, only professional procedures for removing hard and soft deposits can provide perfect cleanliness.
Dentist help
In fairness, it is worth noting that not a single tartar remover can save a person from this problem if deposits are diagnosed under the gum. In these cases, only a dental hygienist will help. Let's consider what methods of removal of solid deposits are used in modern medicine:
- Mechanical cleaning with tools. This method is considered the most budgetary, but not quite ideal. During the procedure, the dentist picks up stones with special tools and removes them from the enamel surface. Then the teeth are ground in order to ensure the smoothness of the treated surface and to prevent the formation of new deposits.
- Ultrasonic cleaning is considered more advanced technology. Using a special scanner, stones are destroyed. During the procedure, a stream of antiseptic solution is supplied, which disinfects the oral cavity. The ultrasonic method allows you to get rid of supragingival and subgingival deposits.
- Laser toothbrushing is considered the most effective way to solve the problem. Thanks to the beam, the crystalline lattice of solid deposits is destroyed. At the same time, the laser is absolutely harmless to the tissues of the teeth and gums. On the contrary, there is a complete destruction of pathogenic microflora. After such cleaning, the condition of the oral cavity improves significantly, and the effect lasts a long time.
In the arsenal, dentists also have dry brushing. However, recently it has been resorted to quite rarely. Application of special compositions containing acids and alkalis to the enamel surface, of course, eliminates deposits well. However, this method can make the enamel more vulnerable, sensitive to external irritants.
Prevention of dental deposits
If you adhere to the simple recommendations of the dentist, the risk of stone formation is minimized. Consider preventive measures:
- Teeth should be cleaned correctly, regularly and for at least 2 minutes. In order to carefully remove plaque from the surface, the brush bristles should be located at an angle of 45 degrees relative to the enamel surface. Movements should be as if raking. The direction is from the gum to the edge of the teeth.
- The use of flosses (special threads) ensures the removal of plaque and food debris from all inaccessible places. The procedure must be performed before bedtime. Do not leave leftovers and plaque in the oral cavity overnight.
- The use of rinses prevents the growth of bacteria, strengthens the structure of enamel, gums. Some tools are designed specifically for the prevention of stone formation.
- The diet should contain a large amount of solid vegetables and fruits. The use of such food contributes to the natural cleansing of the teeth from food debris and plaque.
- You should get rid of bad habits. It is proved that smoking and excessive alcohol consumption contribute to the rapid formation of stone, the development of gum disease and weakening of local, general immunity.
It remains to note that the key to a beautiful smile, oral health is an attentive attitude to all the doctor's recommendations. Also, as a prevention, you should visit the dentist at least once a year. Then he will have time to detect the disease at the very beginning of its development, which greatly facilitates and reduces the cost of its treatment. In this case, only a specialist is able to correctly select a remedy for tartar, which the patient can use at home.