CAUSES & CURE OF TOOTH DISCOLORATION

Do you feel that your teeth are losing their brightness and whiteness over time? Sometimes your teeth turn pale yellow owing to poor dental hygiene, and dark spots get developed in between the teeth. When you do not nourish proper dental care to your dental cavity, your teeth lose their luminosity, causing discoloration of teeth. Stained teeth or yellow teeth impact the aesthetic value of your smile, making it dull. If you are also facing the trouble of stained or discolored teeth, here’s a detailed overview of why your teeth lose their luminosity and how to reverse tooth discoloration.

WHAT IS TOOTH DISCOLORATION?

The term ‘tooth discoloration’ is quite self-explanatory and is the phenomenon when the teeth lose the natural shine and shifts to other shades like yellow, light brown or sometimes develop dark spots. Enamel is the tough outer protective covering of your teeth which renders the typical whiteness to the teeth. When the teeth discolors, it also means that the enamel is damaged or impacted that eventually weakens your dental health. Teeth stains and yellow teeth refrain people from smiling and getting along with others due to the shabby appearance of the teeth that lower their self-confidence.

CAUSES FOR TOOTH DISCOLORATION

The causes for tooth discoloration can be intrinsic, extrinsic or it might be due to ageing.

EXTRINSIC CAUSES

Food Habits

Consumption of certain foods leads to staining your teeth like soy sauce, apples, potatoes, curry, etc. Berries like blueberries, blackberries, cherries can stain your teeth with their colors as they are acidic.

Drinks

Sodas, colas, caffeine and carbonated drinks are acidic that damage the enamel and cause brown stains. The artificial sweeteners in these drinks also lead to dental defects like cavities, teeth sensitivity and teeth discoloration. Sports drinks and energy drinks erode the enamel, making the teeth loose the natural color and cause cavities. Speaking about wine, you would have seen the wine stains on your clothes when you spill off accidentally. Now imagine how will it stain your teeth? The acids in the wine negatively impact your dental health.

Candies & Popsicles

Have you seen children have popsicles or hard candies and have fun seeing their tongue color change? You would have done that in your childhood too. So when these popsicles and candies can change the color of your tongue, they will impact your teeth color as well. However, unless you consume these candies regularly, there are no stains on teeth, still, the sugary candies can feed bacteria and cause plaque and cavities.

Smoking

Smoking is one major factor that causes teeth staining. Plaque buildup in between the teeth and gums due to smoking changes the color of your teeth and cause gum diseases.

INTRINSIC CAUSES

Injuries

When you suffer from an injury while playing or meet with an accident, the teeth may chip or break. The impacted teeth lose their white color owing to the injury.

Poor Dental Hygiene

You would have seen people who do not brush their teeth regularly have yellow teeth. It’s because every night, plaque builds up on your teeth which must be removed in the morning by brushing and flossing the teeth. If the plaque is left as such, it turns your teeth yellow and also leads to other dental diseases.

AGEING

Over time, as you age, your teeth become brittle, and the enamel wears away, exposing the inner dentin tissues of the teeth. When the enamel wears away, the white color of the enamel gets diminished, and your teeth appear discolored.

PREVENTION OF TOOTH DISCOLORATION

You can protect your teeth from losing their natural shine by following a few simple oral hygiene steps.

Brush and floss your teeth regularly to remove the food particles, debris and plaque.

Rinse your mouth with mouthwash after consuming sugary foods or drinking acidic drinks to flush off the acids and prevent damage to the teeth.

Consume foods that naturally whiten your teeth like strawberries, dairy products like yogurt, milk and cheese.

Limit the consumption of acidic drinks, caffeinated drinks and colas to prevent the staining of teeth.

If you cannot give up on your favorite caffeine or carbonated drinks, consume them using a straw, such that there is limited contact with the teeth. Do not swish the drinks in your mouth for long and swallow them swiftly.

Drink plenty of water to increase the production of saliva in the mouth that flush off the harmful acids from the mouth.

Use teeth whitening toothpaste that contains fluoride compounds.

Visit the dental clinic regularly for your dental checkup routine and get your professional dental cleaning done to get rid of plaque and tartar built in your teeth.

If the stains are severe and cannot be reversed by the above steps, visit our dental clinic, The Elite Dental Care, the leading dental care in Tracy, California for teeth whitening procedures and cosmetic dentistry procedures. We implant dental veneers or prosthetic devices and bonding that cover your stained teeth and enhance the appearance of your smile.

Also, read our blogs on https://theelitedental.com/blog   for regular dental hygiene tips and tips for oral health care.