Here’s how:

Removing Calcium Deposits Only a dental professional can remove tartar buildup on your teeth. They will scale the teeth with instruments specifically designed for this purpose. These tools can be metal-tipped hand instruments or ultrasonic tools that use specific wavelengths to remove tartar.

Calcium deposits occur when the calcium phosphate in your saliva sticks to plaque on your teeth. Plaque is a sticky biofilm composed of bacteria in your mouth that feed on sugar and starches. Without proper care, calcium phosphate can harden into tartar.

1. Brush regularly, twice a day for 2 minutes a time.
2. Studies have found that electronic, or powered, toothbrushes may get rid of plaque better than manual models.
3. Choose tartar-control toothpaste with fluoride.
4. Floss, floss, floss.
5. Rinse daily.
6. Watch your diet.
7. Don’t smoke.

If your doctor suggests removing the calcium deposit, you have a few options:

1. A specialist can numb the area and use ultrasound imaging to guide needles to the deposit.
2. Shock wave therapy can be done.
3. The calcium deposits can be removed with an arthroscopic surgery called debridement (say “dih-BREED-munt”).

Extraction Atherectomy. Extraction atherectomy is a procedure done to open a partially blocked blood vessel to the heart so that blood can flow through it more easily. The procedure removes fat and calcium buildup (atherosclerosis) in the heart’s arteries.

Statins help lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, also known as “bad” cholesterol, in the blood. They draw cholesterol out of plaque and stabilize plaque, Blaha says.

A: Yes. There have been several clinical studies — many of them done here at Cleveland Clinic — that show statins can reverse plaque buildup. Two statins in particular, atorvastatin, which is sold under the brand name Lipitor, and rosuvastatin, which is sold under the brand name Crestor, are the strongest statins.