Stained teeth can be embarrassing, making people feel too awkward to smile or even talk to others. In this article we'll tell you about what causes teeth staining and what you can do about it.
What Causes Stained Teeth?
Stained teeth are most often acquired by drinking coffee and tea, wine and smoking. If a food or drink stains your clothing, it's more than likely it can stain your teeth.
However, food and drink isn't always the culprit. Sometimes stains are caused by conditions we have little control over, like ageing and damaged enamel. Also, certain medications can stain your teeth from the inside out. So can underlying medical or dental conditions.
What Can I Do About Stained Teeth?
If you have stained teeth, take heart. Lots of people begin to address minimal staining at home and get excellent results using whitening strips or regularly brushing with baking soda.
How Your Coffs Harbour Dentist Can Help
Unfortunately, mediating severe stains cannot be achieved by do-it-yourself methods especially if staining is caused by medications or medical conditions. The good news is that modern dentistry can offer a wide variety of options to bring out the best in your teeth regardless of the cause.
Your dentist will first recommend a thorough teeth cleaning if you haven’t had one recently. Depending on the severity of stains this may involve several visits. When cleaning alone isn't enough to restore your teeth to their former glory your dentist can recommend a treatment plan to give you back your sparkly whites (even if they weren’t exactly Hollywood-white in the first place.)
Correcting stained teeth at the dentist’s office may be as simple as an in-house whitening treatment or getting a DYI kit so you can whiten your teeth at home with dental grade hydrogen peroxide.
Another option is the application of dental veneers where a thin layer of dental material is custom molded over your real teeth. Veneers are a good choice for those who never had naturally white teeth or when stains are caused by medications or dental conditions. Veneers can even correct any imperfections in your teeth like gaps or chips in addition to covering up stains.
Still Frowning Over Your Stained Teeth?
Knowing which treatment option best corrects your teeth begins with making an appointment with your dentist. Call us to know what options are currently available to get you smiling again.