Home Remedies to Reduce Tartar Buildup

When plaque builds up and is not removed, it hardens on your teeth and forms "tartar." Tartar is a hard, thick film that is not easily removed from your teeth. Tartar is much easier to prevent than to remove. Regularly brushing your teeth is the best method of preventing tartar buildup. A thorough dental cleaning by your dentist is what removes tartar. It's much easier to have a professional look inside your mouth and remove your tartar for you, but if you would prefer to take the time and bypass the dental lecture, you can reduce tartar yourself with a handful of home remedies.

Use antiseptic oral cleanser or hydrogen peroxide. Gargle a cap-full for one minute everyday, and make sure not to swallow it. This oxygenates the teeth, thereby removing and loosening the tartar. It may not taste good, but it's tough.

Floss regularly. Flossing is one of the most important and most neglected parts of dental hygiene. Between your teeth is a great spot for tartar to build up when you do not floss. Neglecting to floss leads to the gum disease gingivitis.

Use a dental pick. A dental pick is the tool that dentists use to scrape off the plaque from your teeth. Dental picks are available for purchase at large retail stores and online. The dental pick comes with a little dentist mirror for seeing behind your teeth. Using a dental pick is difficult at first and takes patience. When properly used, a dental pick yields the best results for removing plaque, but be careful as you can hurt yourself if you are not careful. Firmly press the tip of the dental pick against the plaque and scrape the plaque off of your tooth. Take your time and remember, this is the same tool your dentist uses, but your dentist has years of experience using this tool and the advantage of being able to look directly in your mouth.

Eat spicy food. Spicy food increases saliva production, the acidity of saliva breaks down the tartar. Tomato sauce is naturally acidic and helps fight tartar. Put both these principles together to make enchiladas. This makes a delicious tartar fighting dinner, which is by far the most enjoyable tartar fighting method ever.

Brush your teeth with a tartar control toothpaste. Get some extra help fighting tartar when brushing your teeth by using a tartar control toothbrush and tartar control toothpaste. This simple method takes no more time out of your day, since you're enhancing something you already do everyday.

Brush with an electric toothbrush. Most people brush their teeth using the back and forth, up and down motion, when in fact the circular motion has been proven to be far more effective. However, this still does not compare to the tartar removing effectiveness of an electric toothbrush. Electric toothbrushes give your teeth a 3-D cleaning and are fine tuned to use the most effective brushing speed and motion for tartar removal.

Sources:
"Home Remedy For Teeth Tartar Removal," Lifestyle Lounge.
Alan Carr, D.M.D. "Electric toothbrush: Better than a regular toothbrush?" Mayo Clinic.