The Real Causes of Your Tooth Discoloration, and How to Fix It
If you constantly find yourself looking in the mirror, wishing for more attractive teeth, you’re not alone! A recent survey shows that a full 80% of Americans aged 18 to 49 wish they had a whiter smile.
In a culture driven by social media and selfies, it may feel like your less-than-perfect teeth are always on display. Rather than hiding them behind your hands or a close-lipped smile, it’s time to take action. Start by uncovering the root causes of your tooth discoloration, then ask your dentist for help using professional teeth whitening to make those stains disappear.
What Causes Tooth Discoloration?
Tooth discoloration develops gradually as the effects of food, beverages, age, and certain lifestyle habits take their toll.
Tooth Discoloration From What You Eat
Food and drinks are the most common culprits of staining to the outer layer of your teeth called the enamel. Coffee, wine, soda, and other popular dark-colored drinks contain potent pigments that bond to and stain tooth enamel. Discoloration doesn’t appear immediately, but little by little your white enamel turns dark and full.
Here are a few of the worst food and beverage culprits:
- Black coffee and tea
- Soda and dark juices
- Dark condiments like soy sauce
- Red wine
- Dark berries
In addition to foods that directly stain your teeth with their pigments, unhealthy diet choices can also make discoloration worse. If most of your diet consists of processed foods loaded with sugar and acid, your teeth are more likely to suffer the effects of plaque, cavities, and decay.
Tooth Discoloration From Poor Oral Care
Poor oral care is another common cause of tooth discoloration. If you fail to brush and floss regularly, it’s all too easy for bacteria, acid, and plaque to accumulate and harden into tartar. Plaque and tartar both create an unsightly yellow coating around your teeth that leads to other issues like bad breath, decay, and tooth loss.
Fortunately, it can all be avoided with better oral hygiene! The simple actions of brushing, flossing, and visiting your dentist twice a year help prevent discoloration before it begins.
Tooth Discoloration From Age
Age causes many changes to the body, and not all of them are welcome. This includes tooth discoloration, unfortunately. Your tooth enamel thins as you age, making the underlying yellow dentin more visible. Combined with the normal discoloration of enamel after 60 or 70 years of food and beverage stains, the results aren’t always pretty.
Tooth Discoloration From Poor Lifestyle Habits
You probably already know the lifestyle habits that put your teeth at the highest risk of discoloration. Namely, smoking. Tobacco is notorious for staining nails and teeth an unsightly shade of yellow and brown. Quitting isn’t easy, but you owe it to yourself to try!
How Can Professional Teeth Whitening Brighten Your Smile?
With so many teeth whitening products out there, how can you choose which is best to reverse your tooth discoloration and restore your smile?
When in doubt, turn to your dentist for advice. Dentists offer professional teeth whitening systems that aren’t available in stores. Using powerful, professional-grade ingredients, whitening systems like Lumibrite can quickly and easily remove stains from your teeth to give you the brighter, whiter smile you’ve always wanted.
Lumibrite
Lumibrite is a gentle yet powerful in-office whitening treatment that produces impressive whitening results in as little as 30 minutes. It uses 16%, 22%, or 32% hydrogen peroxide to remove the stains embedded in your tooth enamel and restore a whiter, more attractive appearance.
This whitening treatment sets itself apart by also including the use of a Lumibrite Desensitizing Enhancer, a gel that prevents the uncomfortable sensitivity and zinging sensations commonly caused by over-the-counter whitening kits.
In addition to your in-office treatments, you can also bring Lumibrite home to maximize and maintain your results with Lumibrite take-home whitening kits. Your two-week take-home kit consists of a set of custom-made trays and your preferred concentration of whitening gel. The 32% formula only requires three minutes of contact with your teeth a day, while the 16% and 22% formulations can deliver results when applied for a few hours a day.
How to Start Teeth Whitening
The path to whiter teeth isn’t long or difficult at all! Dr. Cortadi and her team of experts at Ablantis Dental in Encinitas, CA are here to help you find the whitening system that best fits your needs. Whether you want a fast and powerful chairside whitening treatment or a gradual at-home protocol, Ablantis Dental can pair you with the ideal whitening system.
Call Ablantis Dental today at (760) 334-0128 to make your first appointment and regain confidence in your smile.
