Dental calculus, also known as tartar is a hardened form of dental plaque that accumulates on teeth and can lead to various ...

That's why it's important to focus on your oral hygiene and pay attention to what's going on with your teeth. One sign that your mouth isn't as healthy as it could be is if a calculus bridge forms.

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Calculus is a powerful mathematical tool. But for hundreds of years after its invention in the 17th century, it stood on a shaky ...

"If you could do it two to three times a week," she suggests. "Plaque sits on the teeth and turns to calculus after about ...

It shaves the calculus off very gently. So it's very different to the old-fashioned methods of scraping the teeth, which would take calculus away but would also scratch the tooth's surface.

Calculus allows more plaque to rapidly colonise the tooth surface. This causes gum irritation and leads to an inflammatory condition called gingivitis. Persistent bad breath, known as halitosis ...