Teeth Stains—do they bother you? If so, you are not alone. They may not always be avoidable, but there are things you can do to help prevent them. Read below for helpful prevention advice for teeth stains!
Extrinsic Stains:
To better understand how to prevent teeth stains, it is first helpful to understand that there are two types of teeth stains. The ADA online article, “Whitening,” explains that extrinsic stains are those that occur on the surface of the tooth.
How to Prevent Extrinsic Stains:
While you may not be able to control all the things that can cause extrinsic tooth stains, there are some things you can do to help prevent them.
Limit Highly Pigmented Foods and Drinks
As much as we might love coffee, tea, red wine, cola drinks, tomato sauce, and red berries (to name a few), these are some major tooth- staining culprits. The ADA Mouth Healthy article, “Teeth Whitening: 5 Things to Know About Getting a Brighter Smile,” explains that these foods and drinks contain intense color pigments called chromogens that attach to the white, outer part of your tooth. So enjoy the above, but maybe with moderation and some extra brushing to follow!
Avoid Tobacco Use
The same ADA Mouth Healthy article states that two chemicals found in tobacco create stubborn stains: tar and nicotine. Tar is naturally dark. Nicotine is colorless until it is mixed with oxygen, but it turns into a yellowish, surface-staining substance.
Protect Against Tooth Trauma
If you’ve been hit in the mouth, Dr. Medianick explains that this can lead to nerve damage, which can cause your tooth to lose vitality, which can ultimately lead to a color change. This is why we at Boulevard Dental strongly encourage you to wear our custom-made, professional-quality mouthguards while playing contact sports in order to protect against injury.
Intrinsic Stains:
The ADA online article, “Whitening,” also discusses intrinsic stains, or those teeth stains that impact the tooth’s surface beneath the enamel.
How to Prevent Intrinsic Stains:
Pigmented foods and drinks, tobacco, and tooth trauma can also impact intrinsic stains. That said, the ADA article, “Teeth Whitening: 5 Things to Know About Getting a Brighter Smile,” also addresses the variants that are not so easily preventable. For instance, under the hard, white outer shell of your teeth (enamel) is a softer area called dentin. With age, the outer enamel layer gets thinner and more of the yellowish dentin shows through. In addition, tooth darkening can be a side effect of certain antihistamines, antipsychotics, and high blood pressure medications. Young children who are exposed to antibiotics like tetracycline and doxycycline when their teeth are forming (either in the womb or as a baby) may have discoloration of their adult teeth later in life. Lastly, chemotherapy and head and neck radiation can also darken teeth.
There are some factors that cause teeth staining (i.e. age, medications, etc.) that we can do nothing about. But there are also preventative measure you can take, such as limiting highly pigmented foods and drinks, avoiding tobacco use, and protecting your teeth from trauma. Just as in life, so is true with teeth—we can’t control what happens to us, but we can do things to wisely help prevent.
References:
Teeth Whitening: 5 Things to Know About Getting a Brighter Smile. ADA MouthHealthy.https://www.mouthhealthy.org/all-topics-a-z/teeth-whitening. Accessed September 11, 2024.
Whitening. ADA. https://www.ada.org/resources/ada-library/oral-health-topics/whitening/. Accessed September 11, 2024.