Yellow Teeth - Causes And Whitening
| September 7, 2010Have you ever looked at a movie stars shining white smile and wondered at their secret? Ever bemoaned the fact that you don’t have their dentist? The fact is that even if you did it wouldn’t matter because a lot of the pictures that we see are altered to appear perfect. Teeth are not supposed to be pearly white but if your teeth are very yellow there are things you can do. So what causes yellow teeth?
One of the best known causes of yellow teeth is staining through eating and drinking. Coffee, tea, cola, red wine and berries are the worst offenders. Drinking high sugar drinks causes the enamel on your teeth to wear away leaving a more absorbent surface for stains to linger.
There are certain medications that, if given to children under eight, can cause a yellowing of the teeth. Tetracycline and doxycycline which are both antibiotics can cause this discoloration. Certain mouthwashes and rinses containing chlorhexidene can cause staining of the teeth in adults.
Yellowing teeth are not necessarily caused by something that you put in your mouth. Trauma to a tooth can result in the root getting damaged therefore causing discoloration of the tooth. Medical treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy to the neck and head can also cause your teeth to look yellow.
The enamel on your teeth helps to keep your teeth white as it protects the dentine within the tooth. Dentine is a naturally yellow color and as you get older the enamel wears away leaving your dentine more exposed therefore showing a yellow tinge. So it seems this is one of the unfortunate things about growing older.
There are a number of effective treatments to whiten your teeth but the treatment must be appropriate to the cause. For example if your tooth is yellow due to damage you must consult your dentist to get the tooth fixed before you can consider cosmetic whitening. For hereditary, food linked or age related yellowing you might consider veneers or a home whitening kit that can be purchased either from your dentist or a pharmacy.
Your smile is probably very important to you and the cheapest and easiest thing you can do for it is to brush and floss properly and regularly. However there are causes of yellow teeth that have nothing to do with oral hygiene. So if you are in doubt about the best way to deal with discoloration of your teeth you should consult your dentist.
Do you know which teeth shades are easier to whiten and why people have yellow teeth. Read more at www.whitenteeth.net.






