Common Causes of Tooth Discoloration

There’s no doubt that stained teeth have a negative effect on your smile’s appearance and your self-esteem.

DFW cosmetic dentists often see patients who are dissatisfied with the shade of their teeth and want to improve on it.

If you have a problem with chronically stained or discolored teeth, a dentist might review your daily routine to see if you have any habits that are causing the problem. Coffee, cola and red wine can all leave tell-tale marks on the enamel. Smoking is also often the culprit behind stained teeth.

Other causes of tooth discoloration originate in the tooth’s inner layers. Use of certain antibiotics or lingering evidence of trauma to a tooth can leave a mark deep in the tooth.

To a certain extent, the shade of our teeth is determined by genetics, as well.

Additionally, our teeth get yellower as we get older. The enamel becomes thinner, exposing more of the yellow dentin beneath.

Patients who have experienced tooth discoloration can get good results from treatment by a cosmetic dentist. In fact, certain treatment options can get teeth up to 10 shades whiter, regardless of the cause of the discoloration.

Some treatment methods can be used in the comfort of the patients own home. The cosmetic dentist can use the patient’s unique specifications to create custom-designed trays that the patient wears overnight. The trays are filled with a powerful bleaching gel, and initial results are evident within days.

Patients who need a quicker turnaround on their whiter teeth can choose in-office treatments in which the bleaching gel is activated by special lasers. This method helps patients get a whiter, brighter smile in as little as an hour.

For some patients, the stains may be too dark or ingrained to respond to standard whitening treatments. Even so, those patients don’t have to resign themselves to living with dingy teeth. In these cases, veneers can help to restore the smile’s appearance.

Tooth discoloration has a number of causes, so it’s a good idea to figure out what is at fault for your stained teeth. After undergoing tooth whitening treatment, you may want to cut back on your red wine or coffee consumption or quit smoking so that you can maintain your results. Contact our team of cosmetic dentists for additional tips and treatment options.