Tooth Stains – Everything You Need to Know about Them

Tooth stains are everything you need to know about them. Have you noticed that your teeth are not as white as they used to be and maybe not as white as you would like? Many things can make your teeth lose their color. But there are just as many ways to reverse teeth stains and prevent the stains from occurring in the first place.

Teeth stain for several reasons, including your drink and food choices, medication use, and oral hygiene. Teeth stains occur on the surface of your tooth or below your tooth enamel; some individuals develop both types of teeth stains. Here are several tips to help keep your teeth and smile healthy and bright.

Reasons for Stained Teeth

Healthy white teeth and smell are on everybody’s wish list. There are various reasons why your teeth might darken. Some you can’t control, such as accidents or age when you are young, might disturb your tooth enamel development. That’s why discussing your plans for whitening your teeth with a dentist near you is essential. They’ll be able to tell you if your tooth discoloration is simply staining caused by your lifestyle or is a matter of dental health.

Although whitening teeth is usually done for cosmetic reasons, your dentists will guide you on your options for treating the type of staining you might be having. Fortunately, in most cases revising teeth stains is within our reach. That makes pursuing healthy white teeth and smiles worthwhile.

Tooth stains caused by lifestyle habits include:

• Drinks or food: Tea, coffee, wine colors, and some starchy food such as potatoes or pasta create conditions that cause staining.
• Tobacco: Chewing or smoking tobacco can cause a dental stain.

Tooth stains caused by dental health:

• Diseases: Diseases that prevent the normal development of your tooth’s enamel and dentin may lead to tooth discoloration. Medical treatments like neck and head radiation and chemotherapy might cause teeth discoloration. Some infections in pregnant moms can affect enamel development in their baby and cause teeth discoloration issues.
• Poor dental hygiene: Forgetting to floss and brush your teeth causes plaque and food stains to build up. Skipping professional dental cleanings and checkups from the dental office can also allow stains to start.
• Medications: Certain drugs discolor teeth in developing kids. The antibiotics tetracycline and doxycycline affect enamel formation in kids under eight. Mouthwashes and rinses containing Chlorhexidine and cetylpyridinium chloride can also stain your teeth. Antihistamines such as Benadryl, antihypertensive medications, and antipsychotic drugs can also cause teeth discoloration.
• Aging: As one ages, the outer layer of enamel on the teeth gets worn away, exposing the yellow dentin. The teeth dentin also grows as one ages which decreases the size of the pulp. The translucency of your tooth reduces, making the tooth look darker.
• Dental materials: Some dental materials, such as amalgam restorations, such as silver sulfide-containing materials, can lead to a grey-black cast on your teeth.
• Environment: During tooth formation, too much fluoride from the environment, such as high fluoride levels in water or excessive use of fluoride applications in toothpaste or rinses, can cause fluorosis, which appears like white spots on teeth.
• Genetics: Whiter and thicker enamel runs in some families.
• Trauma: During sports, children can get hit in the mouth. The damage can disturb the child’s tooth enamel formation if the kid is younger than eight. Trauma can also discolor the adult team when there’s an impact causing blood flow to decrease to the tooth or cause the nerve to die.

What Kinds of Tooth Discolouration are there?

Our dental professionals at Fox Creek Dental by Espire in Thornton have discovered three main categories of tooth discoloration that include:

• Extrinsic teeth stains: This is staining on the surface of your tooth. Extrinsic teeth stains occur when staining particles from drinks or food buildup in the film of protein that covers the tooth enamel.
• Intrinsic teeth stains: This is thinning below the surface of your tooth. Intrinsic teeth things occur when stain-causing particles stay on the exterior of your tooth and accumulate within the tooth enamel.
• Age-related teeth stains: These stains combine extrinsic and intrinsic tooth discoloration results. And since the court issue of your team and the dentin naturally yellows over time, the teeth discolor with age. As people age, the enamel thins, allowing the dentin to show through. Please visit our Thornton dentist for checkups and cleaning to ensure you maintain white teeth.