Why Teeth Turn Yellow and How You Can Prevent It?

As you age, it is natural for your teeth not to appear brilliant white. While people don’t realize the reasons for their yellow teeth, they turn to home remedies thinking they can bring back the whiteness of their teeth. This article looks at how to get rid of yellow teeth, including some facts about the yellowing of your teeth.

What Causes Teeth to Turn Yellow?

Yellowing your teeth is part of the natural aging process, similar to greying your hair. Your tooth has four kinds of tissues comprising of the enamel representing the hard outer layer of the teeth, dentin which is the yellow inner layer making up a significant portion of the tooth structure. Next, the calcified layer covering the tooth root is called cementum. Finally, the dental pulp is at the center of your tooth, containing the blood vessels, connective tissue, and nerves. Some reasons for the yellowing of your teeth include the following:

• Improper Dental Hygiene: When you don’t maintain appropriate dental hygiene practices, you allow dental plaque to accumulate on your teeth, containing colourless bacteria. Plaque develops when you leave food particles without blushing and flossing appropriately. In addition, dental plaque produces acids to damage the tooth enamel by causing erosion to expose the dentin.
• Trauma: if you suffered injuries on your teeth during childhood, the impacts could disrupt enamel formation. As the enamel is responsible for the whiteness of your teeth, the lack of it can make your teeth appear yellow.
• Medications: antibiotics can cause tooth discoloration when prescribed to children under eight. Medicines can also cause yellowing of the teeth among adults.
• Genetics: if your family members have yellow teeth, you might also have a similar problem. The genetic factor is responsible for thinner enamel, making your teeth appear yellow because the dentin is visible. However, if your family members have thicker enamel, you might enjoy the benefits of whiter teeth.
• Fluorosis: excessive exposure to fluoride under eight results in discoloration of the teeth from the condition called fluorosis. Fluorosis can leave white or brown stains on the teeth. Although fluorosis is merely a cosmetic concern comfortably corrected by the Calgary dentist, you might have to endure the problem until you seek a remedy.

How Can I Prevent My Teeth from Turning Yellow?

Instead of worrying about what causes teeth to turn yellow, it helps to incorporate preventive techniques to inhibit the yellowing of teeth. Some tips you can incorporate into your lifestyle include:

• Avoiding Certain Foods and Beverages: Many foods can stain tooth enamel making your teeth appear yellow. While you might find avoiding these foods and drinks challenging, limiting consumption or reducing the intake helps prevent the yellowing of teeth.
• Drinking Water: if you find it challenging to limit consuming some beverages, you can prevent discoloration of your teeth by swishing water in your mouth soon after having the drinks. Swirling water helps wash away the stain and acids to reduce discoloration.
• Maintain Excellent Dental Hygiene: the Calgary dentist suggests maintaining excellent dental hygiene, especially if you don’t follow practices of brushing, flossing, and rinsing your mouth with antibacterial mouthwash. Plaque and tartar buildup on your teeth is a leading cause of tooth discoloration when left accumulated without receiving dental cleanings.

Tips to Keep Your Teeth White

Keeping your teeth white is not a challenge if you adopt practices like brushing twice daily for two minutes each, flossing once regardless of the time and using an antiseptic mouthwash for rinsing. In addition, you must also refrain from staining foods, drinks, or beverages acidic in nature and visit your dentist every six months for oral prophylaxis. Dental hygiene practices, when followed stringently, help maintain the whiteness of your teeth to some extent. However, your teeth might eventually discolour for various reasons and require assistance from a dental professional to whiten them.

When To See a Dentist about Yellow Teeth?

If you visit your dentist every six months, the professional will likely notice the yellowing of your teeth and suggest the tips mentioned above to brighten your smile. However, if they see enamel erosion or stains from medications or fluoride, they will offer teeth whitening in Calgary, AB, as an option you can consider to stop showing off yellow teeth and have a brighter smile. If yellow teeth concern you, try to ascertain the reasons for the discoloration by visiting Image Dental in Calgary. Professionals at the practice can determine the reasons for the discoloration and provide a remedy to brighten your teeth.