Causes of Tooth Discoloration

Keeping your teeth sparkling white can be a huge challenge! So many of our favorite things have a tendency to dull our smiles. While tooth whitening treatments can be a great option, it is still important to know what is causing the tooth discoloration in the first place. This will help to prevent staining from happening in the future.

Here are the top three main causes of tooth discoloration:

Drinking Dark Beverages:

No one wants to be the one to blame coffee for anything. We absolutely LOVE coffee and honestly couldn’t live without it. But the truth is, it can really stain your teeth. It is easy to tell who the heavy coffee drinkers are the second we take a look at the back of their front teeth. This delicious treat can really do a number on your enamel.

Now coffee can’t take all of the blame. This isn’t the only beverage that causes tooth discoloration, though there is also black tea, cola, and red wine. Don’t worry, though we aren’t telling you to give up the beverages that you love. If you’re a big coffee or tea drinker in the morning, just be sure to finish it in a reasonable amount of time. This means no more sipping on it all morning long. You should also brush after lunch for a fresh start. This might seem silly, but your teeth will thank you!

Smoking:

Unlike coffee, we have no problem coming down hard on smoking. Not only is this bad for your teeth, but it’s bad for almost every other part of your body as well. The time to quit was yesterday!

The tar and nicotine in the cigarettes will turn the dentin of your teeth yellow over time, and for long-term smokers, they will eventually turn brown. Gross! In addition to being one of the main causes of tooth discoloration, smoking has a strong correlation to oral cancer. In fact, approximately 90% of people diagnosed with cancer of the mouth, tongue, lips, and throat are (or were at one time) tobacco users.

Fluoride, Trauma, or Tetracycline in Childhood:

Our teeth tell a story, and sometimes, things that happened in our childhood can show up in our smile later on in life. Crazy, isn’t it? If you experienced too much exposure to fluoride in your childhood then this can lead to dental fluorosis, which is a hypomineralization of the tooth enamel. This can cause white spots all over the teeth. If you have this and it’s bothering you, contact us and we can talk about some cosmetic treatments to address these white spots.

Maybe you experienced dental trauma as a child, like a fall that caused some internal bleeding. This can lead to permanent discoloration of the tooth, even in an adult. Similarly, if your mother took tetracycline antibiotics in the later part of her pregnancy or you took them as a child (age eight or younger) it can cause a severe gray or brown staining of the teeth.

Come in today so we can assess your teeth and help you get ahead of your teeth discoloration. Also ask us about our teeth whitening services!