Do you think you might have yellow teeth? Or could your teeth just be a little whiter and brighter?
There are many different types of discolouration that can occur, resulting in stains on the enamel, or surface, of your teeth. These stains are usually caused by tartar build-up from a number of different sources. So, the best way to avoid stained teeth is to avoid the food, drinks and other items that are causing these stains.
Causes of Stained Teeth
Generally speaking, if you’re worried about certain foods or drinks staining your clothing or pristine white tablecloth, then it’s these same foods and drinks that will stain your teeth. These include red wine, tea, coffee, cola and sports drinks, berries, and even some sauces. Basically, the more intense the colour of the food or drink, the more likely it is to stain your teeth. Apart from food and drinks, there are a number of other things that can cause yellow teeth:
- Tobacco (in all its forms, from cigarettes and cigars, right through to chewing tobacco)
- Disease-childhood illness such as rheumatic fever, measles, chronic ear infections
- Dental materials- silver amalgams “tattoo” good enamel
- Advanced ageing
- Genetics
- Environment
- Trauma
Types of Stained Teeth
There are three main types of teeth stains, all of which have different causes and different results:
- Intrinsic: this type of staining occurs when your dentine (the hard, calcareous tissue that makes up the majority of your tooth and is found underneath the enamel) has darkened and takes on a yellow tint.
- Extrinsic: these tooth stains are superficial, and occur when your tooth enamel is stained by the consumption of the foods or drinks mentioned above, or smoking. Usually, extrinsic tooth stains are easily treated with polishing or bleaching.
- Age-related: this type of stained tooth is both Intrinsic and Extrinsic. It occurs because, over time, your dentin naturally turns yellow as the enamel becomes thinner and more porous.
Our Stained Teeth Services and Solutions
For extrinsic stains, that are located on the surface of your teeth, there are a number of different treatment options available, depending on their severity:
- In the best-case scenario, we may be able to simply use teeth whitening techniques.
- Some stains can also be removed with the use of a mild acid agent and mixed pumice. This technique is very useful with fluorosis stains (white markings from excess fluoride).
- If the stains on your teeth are a little more difficult to remove, we may also need to use composite veneers or porcelain veneers, particularly in the case of tetracycline.
If, on other hand, you have intrinsic stained teeth, as the result of an injury, or the nerve dying, then we may need to treat this both internally as well as externally to get the best possible result. Internal whitening of discoloured teeth caused by nerve death is very simply done by placing diluted sodium perporate inside the tooth over several weeks. Its called ‘walking whitening’ since you have to do nothing except walk and wait!
Our stained teeth services and solutions include:
- Teeth Whitening in Chair
- Teeth Whitening Take Home
- Internal Tooth Bleaching
- Porcelain Veneers
Why Fix Yellow Teeth
Generally speaking, stained or yellow teeth are a cosmetic dental problem only. Usually, stained teeth do not lead to more serious or severe health issues (unless, of course, the cause is intrinsic and had damaged other aspects of your teeth as well). So, it should come as no surprise that the reasons to fix your stained teeth are mostly cosmetic too. Fixing your stained teeth will:
- Improve the overall aesthetics of smile, returning it to its sparkling self
- Boost your self confidence, allowing you to smile without embarrassment once more
Contact dhealth Dentistry Today
Contacting dhealth Dentistry in Melbourne couldn’t be easier. You can:- Call us on 03 9882 6938
- Email us at info@dhealth.com.au
- Pop in and see us at 257 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Melbourne