Teeth stain for many reasons, including food and drink choices, oral hygiene, and medication use. Teeth stains occur on the tooth’s surface or below the tooth enamel; some people develop both types of teeth stains.
Types of Tooth Discoloration (Stains)
Tooth discoloration can result from surface stains, changes in your tooth material, or a combination of both factors. Dental professionals have identified three main categories of tooth discoloration:
Extrinsic Teeth Stains: An extrinsic tooth stain stains on the tooth’s surface. It occurs when stain particles, such as pigmented residue from food or drink, build up in the film of protein that covers the tooth enamel. Extrinsic tooth stains are typically caused by tobacco use or by regularly drinking coffee, tea, wine, or cola drinks. This type of tooth stain responds well to regular dental cleaning and brushing the teeth with whitening toothpaste.
Intrinsic Teeth Stains: An intrinsic tooth stain is staining below the tooth’s surface. It occurs when stain-causing particles work through the tooth’s exterior and accumulate within the tooth enamel—excessive fluoride use and also been associated with intrinsic, especially in children. An intrinsic tooth stain is trickier to remove, but it can be done. An intrinsic tooth stain may require bleaching using professional or at-home chemical teeth-whitening products, such as Whitestrips.
Age-Related Teeth Stains: Age-related teeth stains combine intrinsic and extrinsic tooth discoloration results. Because the core tissue of your teeth, the dentin, naturally yellows over time, teeth discolor with age. The tooth’s enamel becomes thinner as we age, allowing the dentin to show through. These intrinsic causes of discoloration combined with extrinsic causes, such as the effects of certain foods, beverages, and tobacco, will cause most adults’ teeth to discolor with age.
Stained Teeth Causes
Teet stains have many causes. Certain foods and drinks can cause tooth stains, and as we have discussed, tooth discoloration is also a product of several biological factors, including the transparency of your tooth enamel.
There are many causes of discolored teeth, some of which could have been prevented, and many are beyond your control. This comprehensive list can help you determine the cause of discolored teeth and, in many cases, help prevent further discoloring of your teeth:
Food & Drink: Coffee, tea, dark sodas, red wine, and even a few fruits and vegetables are proven causes of discolored teeth.
Tobacco: Both cigarettes and chewing tobacco can contribute to discolored teeth.
Oral Care: Poor dental hygiene, such as inadequate brushing or flossing, can lead to tooth discoloration.
Trauma or Disease: Any trauma, illness, or disease that affects enamel development in children—either in the womb or while teeth are developing (under the age of 8)—can cause discolored teeth. Trauma to adult teeth can also cause discolored teeth. In addition, a few diseases and disease treatments can cause discolored teeth. Chemotherapy and radiation, for example, cause discolored teeth.
Medical Treatments: Sometimes, medical treatments can contribute to teeth stains, and several classes of medications, including high blood pressure medications, chemotherapy, antihistamines, and some antipsychotic medications, can cause teeth stains.
Knowing how to remove a tooth stain helps to know what type of stain you are dealing with. Research by Sagel and others has shown that some stain particles remain on the tooth enamel, while others work through the tooth enamel over time and set beneath the tooth surface, which creates dullness and tooth stain.
Are My Teeth White?
Tooth discoloration is subjective, and it can be hard to tell how well teeth-whitening products are working to remove or reduce teeth stains. A 2004 study in the Journal of Dentistry showed that even professionals disagree on tooth color when evaluating the same teeth. A single professional can rate the whiteness of the same tooth differently on different occasions. One method of evaluating the effectiveness of whitening products involves taking high-resolution digital images of teeth and assigning numerical values to describe the whitening effects in three ways: a decrease in yellowness, a decrease in redness, and an increase in lightness.
Teeth Whitening for Older Adults
While everyone knows you get better with age, tooth stains are one of the least-favorite body changes during aging.
Why Are Seniors Susceptible For Tooth Stains? First, as you age, the outer layer of the tooth’s enamel gets thinner over time, revealing the natural yellow color of the core tissue of your teeth, called the dentin. This dentin also yellows naturally with age. In addition, years of drinking tea, coffee, dark sodas, and wine can cause progressive tooth stains over time. Finally, damage or injuries to your teeth, which occur throughout your life, cause discoloration that can become noticeable with age.
How to Remove Teeth Stains
Fortunately, there are many treatment options for tooth stains. Regular whitening maintenance will help keep them looking whiter and brighter. Keep your teeth healthy and looking great by maintaining a consistent oral health routine, including twice-daily toothbrushing and daily flossing, twice-yearly visits to your dentist, and limiting your consumption of teeth-staining beverages.
Regardless of the type of tooth discoloration you have, many safe, over-the-counter, teeth-whitening products are available to help you makeover your discolored teeth into a beautiful white smile. Ask your dentist for the best teeth whitening option to treat your age-related tooth stains and discoloration.