What Can Cause Tooth Discoloration and Stains?
Tooth discolouration and stains on your teeth are common incidents that happen for various reasons. And many of these stains are preventable and treatable. Here's what you need to know about the causes of tooth discolouration and stains and what you can do to keep your pearly whites looking their best.
Types of Staining
Extrinsic- Likely, the stains only affect the tooth enamel or the tooth's surface.
Intrinsic- This type of stain is located within the tooth, making it more resistant to over the counter whitening products.
Age-related- As humans age, the outer enamel layer of our teeth wears away. When you look at our gums, this often results in a yellow appearance, but it doesn't happen overnight. This happens over time and normally results from both extrinsic and intrinsic factors.
What Can Cause Tooth Discoloration?
The main reason for tooth discolouration is typically what we eat and drink, ageing and any tooth injuries.
Food, Drink, & Tobacco
Certain types of food and drink can stain your teeth. Commonly found foods and drinks that may stain teeth include: red wine, coffee, chocolate & tobacco.
Age, Injuries, & antibiotics
As you age, your teeth can become more brittle and allow staining or yellowing to occur. However, when tooth injuries are the root of the problem, sometimes only the damaged tooth will darken.
What Can You Do to Get Rid of Stains?
As we grow older, teeth discolouration caused by coffee and other stains become more noticeable. The great news is there are many products and procedures available to help you improve or eliminate the appearance of these stains. Typically speaking, teeth whitening options fall into three basic categories:
In-office Treatment- Dentists will typically use a high concentration of hydrogen peroxide in the bleaching mix they provide compared to teeth whitening kits you can purchase at home. In-office treatment works much faster, and the effects tend to last longer than other options available.
At-home Treatments Through Your Dentist- Some local dentists can produce custom mouthguards that can help to align and straighten out your teeth when worn as per the instructions. It's best to wear a tray for up to 1 hour every day or as recommended by a dental professional.
Over-the-counter Products- While toothpaste and strips offer some surface help for discolouration, they will have a more intrinsic approach if more in-depth issues are at hand.
When Should You See a Dentist?
If you notice a change in the colour of your teeth and it doesn't get better with a whitening product, it's a good idea to follow up with your dentist. If the staining looks like a dark shadow, and nothing you try seems to remove the stain, it could be due to a deeper problem known as cavities or demineralization of enamel.
If one single tooth is discoloured, it could mean that you have a cavity or an injury. Therefore, you should search for dentist near me and visit the dentist as soon as possible to fix such problems since untreated dental issues can worsen quicker than you may expect. It's always wise to visit your cosmetic dentist twice a year for routine exams, but also be prepared in case something happens between visits because this is often when dental problems are discovered. These early warnings are just what you need to prevent the issues from becoming more plagued later on down the track.
The bottom line
The appearance of unwanted discolourations on your teeth can occur for many reasons, and it can occur a tooth pain. Still, most commonly, they come from the dark pigmented stain-causing foods and beverages to contact your teeth, such as black tea. Tobacco products like cigarettes, cigars, or chewing tobacco can also cause these stains because of the tar content. Your dentist can whiten or polish away these surface stains pretty easily using whitening products or procedures. Intrinsic stains that develop within your tooth itself may result from tooth decay, an injury or illness (such as with some medications) and will require further treatment options by a dentist with expertise in handling these cases.
Source URL: http://gentledental.co.nz/services/emergencies/