You wake up in the morning and brush your teeth, but when you look in the mirror, your teeth are still yellowed or brown. Stained teeth are a common problem people have as modern lifestyles commonly have foods and other items that stain your teeth.
Brushing can clean your teeth, remove plaque, etc., but when teeth become stained over the years, the efficacy of toothpaste is limited. It’s important to understand how your teeth become stained and what you can do about it.
What Causes Stained Teeth?
There are many factors that can impact the color of your teeth. Drinking beverages like coffee, soda, and tea are known to causes tooth staining. Certain foods like berries can stain teeth as does smoking. Try to avoid foods that are bright in color including pasta sauces and bright curries.
Drinks with bright or dark colors should also be avoided. This includes bright fruit juices, coffee, etc.
Keeping up with oral care can also help stave off staining. Brushing twice a day, chewing sugar-free gum throughout the day can go a long way to keeping your teeth bright and shiny.
What the Different Types of Staining?
There isn’t just a single method of staining. There are actually three: surface stains, under the surface stains and age-related stains.
Surface Stains – These are often called extrinsic stains and happens when the pigments of the food, drink or staining agent build up on the outside of the tooth over time. Tooth cleaning can help with these stains.
Below the Surface Stains – These are known as intrinsic stains and happen when the staining particles don’t’ just reach the outside of the tooth, but are also to infiltrate the inside and accumulate inside the actual tooth enamel. These are harder to clean because it’s not just the outside, so it can’t be scraped off. Instead, bleachers or chemical whiteners must be used.
Age-Related Stains – The main tissue of your teeth, dentin, will naturally yellow over time. It’s just the nature of things. When you add in extrinsic and intrinsic tooth issues, it can lead to substantial discoloration. This is especially true if the enamel thins and leads to the natural dentin to show.
Do You Need Tooth Whitening?
If you ask yourself if your teeth could be whiter, then they probably can. It’s natural for teeth to yellow over time, especially with our coffee-driven lifestyle, and tooth whitening is the best way to get that youthful shine back.
There are at-home whiteners, but the careful whitening under the supervision of a dentist is the best idea. The results are not only better than at-home but if there are any issues, there is a professional there to help you.
If you’re like to get tooth whitening, then please feel free to contact Dr. Ed and his staff today.