Top tips to avoid having yellow teeth

Yellow teeth are a big concern for many people, but the exact causes are varied and are misled into damaging our teeth further while trying to whiten them. So, let’s discuss the top tips to avoid yellow teeth and maintain a bright smile.

#1: Causes for yellow teeth

Our teeth have different layers, and these can influence how white or yellow they appear. The outer layer, called Enamel, is white, while the layer underneath, Dentine, is more yellow.

When your teeth have healthy, thick Enamel, they appear whiter. If the Enamel gets thinner that you may get yellow teeth. The Enamel becomes more see through and transparent, so more of the underlying Dentine shines through.

That’s why you should avoid having too many acidic fruits or juices, as they will eat away at your Enamel and, therefore, give you more yellow teeth.
Actually, many people think that strawberry is perfect to whiten their teeth. Wrong! It actually erodes your teeth and makes your Enamel thin. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be eating strawberries of course, but make sure you don’t deliberately keep them on your teeth for a long period of time.

#2: Types of discolouration

There are two different types of tooth discolouration. On one hand, you have extrinsic, which is staining on the tooth surface. On the other, there is intrinsic discolouration, which occurs within the tooth structure.

Extrinsic discolouration can be caused by certain foods and drinks that stain the tooth surface and cause your Enamel to thin. Such foods and drinks include: acidic fruits, coffee, red wine, tea, and caramel. Cigarettes should also be avoided! Many people tend to use whitening toothpaste to solve this problem, because it seams the most convenient and easy option. However, this can can also cause damage to your teeth, as whitening toothpastes tend to be very abrasive and end up scraping away your upper layers of Enamel. We recommend that you instead try dentist-prescribed whitening treatments that will protect your teeth, while making them whiter.

Intrinsic discolouration, on the other hand, can occur for various reasons. One, for instance, is called tetracycline staining. This is when an antibiotic is prescribed to a child and causes the teeth to become grey with horizontal stripes. Another cause would be a dead nerve within your tooth, which can make your teeth darken considerably and look almost black. The only way to treat this is using internal whitening or covering it with crowns, bonding or veneers.

#3: Keep it natural

To sum up, if you want to keep your teeth naturally white, you should stay away from acidic food, coffee, tea and smoking. Of course it would be unrealistic – or even impossible –  to staying away from all these foods and drinks. There are, however, ways to protect your teeth even so. For example, use a straw for acidic drinks to avoid covering all your teeth in the harmful acid. Drink water after coffee or wine to rinse your mouth, then there won’t be enough time for it to stain your teeth. Last but not least, stick to your daily oral hygiene routine and consider switching up to an enamel protecting toothpaste like Regenerate™, which will even reverse early stages of enamel erosion.

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