Many people strive to keep their teeth looking pearly white. But over time, a number of factors may cause your teeth to become discolored. If you feel unhappy about the color of your teeth, you could feel a serious blow to your self-esteem.
Your dentist can recommend several treatments that can brighten your tooth color. However, you can also make efforts to preserve the beautiful, natural color of your smile.
You can better protect your smile aesthetics when you know about what could potentially cause stains to form on your teeth. Read on to learn about four ways you might develop dental discoloration and what these changes mean for your oral health.
Dark Tooth Stains
If you see dark spots appear on your teeth, this could come from the substances you consume. Dark foods and beverages get their color from naturally occurring particles called tannins. When you eat or drink, tannins transfer to your teeth and leave dark stains behind on your smile.
Efforts to reduce the chance of this happening, like sipping dark drinks through a straw or diluting the beverage with milk, can lower the likelihood but not eliminate the risk entirely. So you should pay attention to your diet and how it affects your tooth color. Red wine, coffee, and tea are all examples of items that could stain your teeth this way.
Dark or brown spots on your teeth might also develop as a symptom of tooth decay. So do not ignore these stains on your smile. Visit your dentist to find cavity treatment as well as cosmetic dental solutions.
Yellowing in the Teeth
Your teeth might turn yellow due to consuming staining agents as well. But yellow dental discoloration can also happen due to enamel erosion. Your durable enamel may wear down over time, especially as you age.
When this occurs, the thinned and weakened enamel will expose the underlying dentin layer of your teeth, which can look yellow. Talk to your dentist about restoring damaged enamel and keeping your smile bright.
Dull Tooth Color
If your tooth seems to grow dull in color, you might have developed nonvital tooth pulp. This can happen if you suffer impact trauma either acutely through a blow to the face or gradually from habits like teeth grinding.
An injury that reaches the pulp can damage internal blood vessels. Then if blood cannot flow properly to the tooth, you form what is known as a dead tooth.
This is not necessarily a dental emergency if you have no other symptoms. But it may warrant extra monitoring from your dentist to prevent an infection. Plus, you can ask your dentist about cosmetic ways to brighten your tooth color.
White Patches on the Teeth
The formation of white spots on your teeth can disrupt your beautiful smile. This discoloration can develop when your enamel loses calcium and essential minerals that make up its structure.
Enamel cannot regrow, but you can discuss remineralization to help strengthen your teeth again with your dentist. You may also need bonding or veneers to restore the appearance of your smile.