If you have looked in the mirror lately, you may not be happy with your reflection. You may be wondering, “Why are my teeth yellow even though I brush them?” You may think you have yellow teeth disease. If you are suffering from yellow teeth, there are ways we can treat it.
What Causes Teeth to Turn Yellow?
There are several causes of yellow teeth. Things outside your teeth can cause them to turn yellow. There are also things inside your teeth that can cause it.
Outside Your Tooth
Dentists call stains on the surface of your enamel extrinsic stains. The tooth enamel stains quite easily. However, it is very easy to remove the stains. A person who uses tobacco may find their teeth have turned yellow. The tar and nicotine in tobacco products can make your teeth yellow. If you drink a lot of coffee and tea, you can also stain your teeth. Other foods and drinks can turn your teeth yellow as well. Even darker colored foods and beverages, such as chocolate, cola, and red wine, can stain your teeth yellow. You may have yellowed your teeth on Popsicles and candy as well.
Other Ways to Stain Your Teeth
Eating a lot of acidic foods and drinks can accelerate the staining of your teeth. Foods with a high acid content erode your tooth enamel, making it easier for pigments to latch onto your teeth. You can also stain your teeth with some forms of medication, such as when you take liquid iron. Teeth can get stains on the top of their enamel through poor oral hygiene. If you do not brush or floss properly and don’t clean your teeth, you might experience tartar and plaque buildup. This can cause your teeth to turn yellow as well.
Inside Your Teeth
Intrinsic stains happen inside the inner tooth structure. That makes these stains more difficult to remove. One of the easiest ways to stain teeth from the inside is through medication. Several medications can cause yellow teeth. If you were a child under 8 and took doxycycline, your teeth may become yellow. Pregnant women sometimes take another antibiotic, tetracycline, by mistake. This medication causes a baby’s teeth to turn yellow. Dentists use chlorhexidine mouthwashes to treat bacteria and gum disease. These, too, can cause brown or yellow teeth. Chemotherapy drugs taken by cancer patients can also cause teeth to become yellow.
Can Yellow Teeth Become White?
There are several ways that we can make yellow teeth whiter. If you have a lot of time, you may want to try teeth whitening toothpaste and mouthwash. However, these products will only whiten your teeth a few shades. If your teeth are very yellow, you are going to need a different type of treatment. One of the best is a bleaching treatment. We send you home with chemicals mixed up in custom bleaching trays. You can bleach your teeth multiple shades of white in as little as a week. This treatment is harmless and is a great way to get your teeth sparkling white. You may want to have your teeth polished before you whiten them. Then, you can get your teeth whitening trays and whiten your teeth as much as possible.
Are you asking yourself, “why do my teeth look yellow”? Do you need treatment for yellow teeth? We can help you? Contact Dr. Paul Feldman at Suburban Essex Dental. We are in Essex County. For the past seven years, NJ Monthly has voted Dr. Paul Feldman a “Top Dentist”. Give us a call today and let us help you get your teeth brilliantly white.