Why Teeth Can Turn Yellow
Posted on: 29 February 2016
People with yellow teeth may hear from others that they have poor dental hygiene, despite the fact that they floss and brush regularly. Even though yellow tinted teeth are associated with being dirty, don't make their color cause you to feel bad or self-conscious when smiling. Teeth can become yellow for several reasons, yet actually be perfectly healthy despite the color.
Your Age
As you get older, teeth will naturally start to become more yellow. While there are exceptions to this, chances are that an adult with incredibly white teeth has had cosmetic dentistry done, such as bleaching.
The yellow color happens because your teeth's enamel wear down over time. Enamel gives the white appearance, and it does not regenerate. Brushing hard can cause enamel to wear away faster, so be careful that your aggressive cleaning techniques are not causing damage.
Your Medications
It's unfortunate, but some medications will cause teeth to become yellow. This is due to an actual side effect of taking the medication, or that the medication physically causes the staining to occur. It can happen with antibiotics like doxycycline and tetracycline, antihistamines, mouth washes, and blood pressure drugs. If you do take these semi-regularly, you may notice discoloration.
Your Diet
All of the things that you drink and eat throughout the day can contribute to causing teeth to become yellow, even when you brush after you consume them. Soda, tea, wine, and coffee are drinks known to cause staining, as well as vegetables and fruits like potatoes and apples. While the latter can cause staining, they are still important to eat to maintain a balanced diet, which should be your primary concern rather than having pretty looking teeth.
Your Genetics
If your parents have a problem with yellow teeth, chances are that you will too. If you have inherited teeth with thin or dull enamel, making changes to your dental hygiene will not be able to fix the problem. Genetics is how it's possible for people to rarely get cavities with poor oral hygiene, or get cavities all the time from minor oral hygiene slip ups.
How To Reduce Staining
Even though some of these reasons are out of your control, you can still make changes that will reduce the staining that occurs. This includes drinking plenty of water that will wash the staining acids off your teeth, or avoid brushing your teeth right after eating so that your saliva has time to wash the acids off naturally instead of scrubbing the acids across the enamel.
If you are simply not happy with your teeth, consider seeking out a cosmetic dentist that can perform professional teeth whitening.
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