Teeth discoloration can affect your confidence, but it is often more than just a surface-level concern. To effectively treat discoloration and improve oral health, it is important to understand what is causing the stains. Let’s look at why your teeth might be changing color.
What Is Tooth Discoloration?
Teeth discoloration happens when your teeth lose their bright, white look. This can be caused by aging, certain medicines, or your daily habits like what you eat and drink. Your teeth might turn yellow, brown, or even grey. You might notice a small spot on one tooth or see the color change across your whole smile.
What Are the Types of Discoloration?
Before you try to fix those spots yourself, you need to know what kind of stains they are. Most teeth staining falls into two main categories. Understanding which one you have will help you get the best results.
Extrinsic: This type of discoloration affects the surface of your teeth (enamel), and this is often caused by food and drinks.
Intrinsic: This type of discoloration affects your dentin, which is the layer underneath your enamel. This can be caused by trauma, disease, and certain medications.
What Causes Teeth Discoloration?
While teeth discoloration can vary in appearance, the factors affecting it are more complex than they seem. Some causes of tooth discoloration are preventable, while others are not.
Avoidable Causes
- The most common reason for stained teeth is beverages such as coffee, tea, or wine. These beverages have a compound called tannins. These compounds can stick to the enamel and gradually cause yellow or brown staining.
- Smoking and vaping can contribute to tooth discoloration because nicotine and tar easily stain enamel.
- Food such as tomato sauce and berries can also stain your teeth over time.
- If you had a high level of fluoride consumption during childhood, in the form of tablets, toothpaste, or fluoridated water. This can lead to white spots, mottling, or pitting on the teeth.
- If you do not maintain good oral hygiene, plaque and stains can build up on your teeth.
Unavoidable Causes
- Genetics can influence the natural color, translucency, and brightness of your teeth.
- Teeth discoloration could be due to underlying health conditions such as liver disease, eating disorders, calcium deficiency, celiac disease, or other metabolic diseases.
- It could also be due to a dental trauma such as a fall, an accident, or a sports injury.
- If you are getting older, this could also impact your teeth’s color. As you age, your enamel thins, exposing your dentin, which is yellow in color.
- Medication for high blood pressure, antibiotics, and antihistamines can also cause discoloration of your teeth.
How to Fix It at Home?
If you want to restore your teeth’s color at home, you can try over-the-counter (OTC) teeth whitening treatments, which include strips, paste, or bleaching trays. Some OTC products are safe to use, but others can damage your enamel and cause cavities or erosion. So, it is better to discuss it with your dentist before using it.
Aside from that, you should keep good oral hygiene, like brushing and flossing your teeth and avoiding food and beverages that can stain your teeth.
What Treatments Do Dentists Offer?
If treating it at home isn’t working, you can get it checked by a dentist and take whitening treatment according to your teeth’s condition and the type of discoloration. Treatments offered by dentists include;
At-home Professional Treatment
At-home professional treatment is best for extrinsic stains; it uses hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide to lift the stain from your teeth and, in some cases, can mildly remove intrinsic stains.
In-office Whitening Treatment
In-office whitening should be performed under the supervision of a dentist. The procedure is typically completed in about an hour and is designed to noticeably brighten teeth.
Dental Crown
If you have teeth that are decaying, your dentist would advise you to get a dental crown. It is a tooth-shaped cap that is fixed on your teeth to protect them from further damage and erosion.
Teeth Bonding
Your dentist may recommend tooth bonding if you have deep, stubborn discoloration. In this treatment, the dentist applies a tooth-colored composite resin to the teeth.
Porcelain Veneers
If you have discoloration on all your teeth, then you should opt for porcelain veneers. They are thin ceramic shells bonded to the front surface of the teeth.
Final Thought
Your discolored teeth could be due to several causes, but they are still manageable with proper care and professional treatment. For a proper assessment, you should book an appointment with your dentist, or you could reach out to Trinity Dental Centers. For further details, you can contact us at (281) 724-4510.
