Don’t Forget To Whiten Your Teeth!

Stains On The Teeth

How many times do you have coffee? What about a glass of wine? Whether or not you’re eating or drinking there are countless kinds of foods and beverages that can dull your bright white teeth. They have natural chemicals and colorations that your teeth are susceptible to over time. Eventually, that shining glean can become a mundane tan color that starts to become unsightly, even unhealthy. In today’s blog post we’ll go over what kind of foods and drinks can stain your teeth, and then the steps needed to whiten them back to perfection.

What can cause stains on the teeth?

A lot of different dietary options can create problems for the coloration in your teeth. They have acids or strong dyes which will coat your teeth and even stay in your mouth over time. However, it’s not just your diet that can cause this. Since there are an overwhelming amount of things that can cause stains, we’re going to focus on the broad categories they fall under. To be technically correct, there are three different forms of staining that your teeth can undergo.

Extrinsic discoloration is when the outer layer of your teeth (the enamel) get stained by different foods and drinks. Smoking tobacco can also cause extrinsic discoloration and is one of the most common ways to get stains on your teeth.

Intrinsic discoloration is the result of particles from the same sources remain in your mouth. Over a period of time, they travel into the internal layers of your teeth and into your enamel. This sort of effect can occur from long term use, such as the excessively using fluoride — this has been proven to cause intrinsic effects, especially for children.

Stains caused by aging or disease are also very prevalent. Over time the layers of the teeth can decay on their own without the effects of external substances. Even some medical treatments like chemotherapy can cause such effects. However, the core of the tooth (which is known as Dentin) naturally turns yellow as time goes on. So, for most people who are in approaching old age, teeth stains are unfortunately a result.

How Can Gentle Dental Help Fix This?

We have the solutions for all of these issues, and we can see you as soon as possible to help alleviate whichever stains you may have. We actually use a 2 step process for whitening known as a whitening tray, which involves us taking a mold of your teeth. After that, we will give you the molds which you can fill with a whitening gel. At home, you can use these molds, again and again, to keep your teeth stain-free. After all, most of these scenarios are very simple fixes. For example, stains from Extrinsic discoloration are easy to clean through regular dental hygiene regiments. They will disappear after a short time. The intrinsic discoloration is a little more difficult to clean since they are deeper into the enamel. It requires bleaching in order to return them to normal. As for the older adults trying to avoid their stains, we recommend daily flossing and routine check-ups. You should have a check-up twice a year to keep your teeth in great shape. If you’re in need of a check-up, or you want to give our whitening trays a try, come and visit us. Gentle dental will make sure you keep good oral hygiene, but it’s up to you to keep building these great habits on your own. Remember, choose Gentle Dental for all of your oral needs and don’t forget to whiten your teeth!

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