With sales of whitening products rising dramatically in the past decade, it is clear that most everyone sees white teeth as being central to an attractive smile. Dentists will tell you that often patients are more concerned with their teeth being bright white than other dental issues they may have, such as crooked teeth.
One of the common reasons people’s teeth are not as white as many would like is, they become discolored or stained.
Many will turn to over the counter whitening products which have no professional involvement in their application. Others will turn to their dentist to provide one of several professional whitening treatments such as ZOOM! Teeth Whitening. Advanced teeth whitening such as this use special whitening gels combined with light activation.
Correctly diagnosing the cause of any discoloration will have an effect on the treatment outcomes. Your dentist can exam you and recommend the best solution to the unsightly staining of your teeth.
One thing you can do is to have an understanding of the causes of tooth stains and modify your habits to lessen the level of staining to your teeth.
What causes tooth stains?
The things that cause tooth stains are varied and complex. The most common causes include:
Extrinsic discoloration: Staining on the surface of the tooth that comes from the outside-in, like from the foods and drinks we consume or tobacco.
Intrinsic discoloration: Caused when stain-causing particles below the surface of the tooth come in through the outside of the tooth and collect in the tooth enamel.
Age-related teeth stains: As we get older both extrinsic and intrinsic come into play to cause tooth discoloration. Dentin, the tissue forming the bulk of your tooth beneath the enamel naturally yellows over time. Then as you age the enamel will become thinner, allowing the yellow dentin to show. Add to that the extrinsic causes of certain foods, beverages, and tobacco, almost all adults will discolor with age.
Poor dental hygiene: By not brushing and flossing regularly, and properly, plaque and stain-producing substances can accumulate, eventually causing tooth discoloration.
Medications: Some medications such as high blood pressure medicine, antihistamines, and antipsychotics can cause tooth discoloration. Antibiotics such as tetracycline and doxycycline when given to children may cause discoloration later in their adult life.
Protecting your teeth from staining
As you can see from the preceding information, there are certain things you can do to yourself improve the color of your teeth, such as good dental hygiene. Then there are others beyond your control such as aging and medications that you may need.
One thing you can do to prevent staining is to avoid or reduce the food and beverages that are known to cause stains. While there are others, here are the big five:
1. Coffee and Tea
For many, coffee is an important drink to make it to work in the morning. It can be very hard for some to give up this important wake-up drink and continue on with the day’s tasks. However, coffee is notorious for staining teeth. Coffee contains tannins (acidic polyphenols) that cause color compounds called chromogens to stick to your teeth.
Any drink that contains tannin can make your teeth prone to staining. Because tannins are acidic, they can wear down your enamel, making it easier for stains to set in. Switching to tea is not really going to help. Tea is also full of tannins. If you must have coffee, then it helps to brush your teeth right after before the stains can set in.
2. Wine
If it is not bad enough that coffee will stain your teeth, now we have to add another favorite beverage, the one you need after work to relax – wine. Red wine especially has strong pigments that are instant stain-makers for your teeth. White wine doesn’t have the strong pigments. However, both red wine and white wine are acidic, and white wine even more so, which can wear down your tooth’s enamel.
Red wine also has tannins that help those nasty chromogens bind to your teeth, leaving ugly stains. Dentists don’t recommend brushing your teeth right after drinking wine, as you will be brushing in an acid environment. Rinse your mouth out with clean water first. It can help to eat at the same time stimulating saliva which fights harmful bacteria and helps maintain ideal pH levels.
3. Tomato sauce
Any food tomato-based can stain your teeth. Tomato sauce is highly pigmented and also acidic. As with coffee, tea, and wine, acid foods can wear away your teeth’s enamel, allowing the yellowish dentin underneath to show through.
4. Blueberries
While blueberries are said to be a superfood, the dark stains they leave on anything they touch teeth make them one of the biggest makers of discoloration. If you have ever stained your clothes with blueberries, you should know how difficult it can be to remove the stains. The tenacity of the chromogens in this healthy food is famous.
5. Beets
Beets are another food that stains like blueberries. Some people even use them to dye their Easter eggs. The bright red color is great for those Easter eggs, but for teeth, not so much. Consume beets in moderation or your teeth will look like a set of rubies unless that is a look you are going for!
Final Thoughts
Your teeth have normal variations in color graduating from the margin of the gums to the edge of the tooth. So, having perfectly white teeth is not to be expected. Even with teeth whitening treatments, it can be difficult to tell how well it removed or reduced any stains. Tooth color is subjective and even professionals disagree on tooth color when evaluating the same teeth.
So, don’t get too stressed about having perfectly white teeth. Just maintain your daily dental hygiene routine and keep up your regular appointments with your dentist. Also, avoid the things outlined here that cause teeth stains. Do these things and just keep smiling, and the whole world will smile with you, as the song goes!
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