The signs of yellow or discoloured teeth are usually fairly obvious. You'll usually notice the yellow teeth stand out against your standard tooth colour. Sometimes all of your teeth will be discoloured or stained and you notice it in a photograph with other people.
It's one of the times you won't be able to help but notice your teeth, especially while brushing them every day. You may not have anyone or anything to compare them to. But sometimes variations in your tooth color can be very noticeable. Yellow teeth are a key indicator of discoloration.
You don't have to feel bad or embarrassed if you have yellowed or discolored teeth. This common complaint can happen because of various factors, including lifestyle and medical reasons, as well as simply getting older.
In most cases, yellow teeth are considered unattractive and, at times, can be mistaken for poor oral hygiene.
Dentin, which is the layer underneath the enamel, is a yellowish-brown color; as the enamel is eroded over the course of life, more dentin shows through at the surface. In this respect, it is normal to have yellow teeth – especially as you age.
Even with daily brushing, certain foods and drinks can cause stained teeth. For example, frequently drinking coffee, tea and wine can all lead to yellow teeth. In addition, even regular brushing cannot always combat yellow teeth caused by smoking cigarettes.
This is because as the enamel surface of teeth wears with age, the dentin layer moves closer to the outer surface. As a result, the thinner, translucent layers of enamel display more of the natural color of dentin. The result is a decidedly more “yellow” appearance.
Your smile is like your calling card to the world. If you feel self-conscious about your smile, you might hide it from people. Yellow or stained teeth are among the most common reasons to feel self-conscious or embarrassed about your smile. The good news is that yellow or stained teeth are very fixable problems.
Yellow teeth aren't necessarily unhealthy teeth, and smiles naturally come in a myriad of different shades. Unfortunately, though, this fact does little to boost the appeal of canary-coloured teeth and there's a huge demand for cosmetic dental treatments that whiten and brighten our smiles.
Yellow teeth are not considered attractive because they can be a sign of poor dental hygiene. Teeth naturally become more yellow with age due to food, drinks and cigarettes, but excessive staining can be a sign that brushing and flossing are not being done as frequently as they should be.
Your romantic life
In fact, both men and women commonly find yellow teeth a turn-off at best and a deal breaker at worst.
Try opting for lipsticks that have a slight blue hue to them. The faint appearance of blue can actually make the teeth appear whiter than they really are. Red colored lipstick is a very popular style and it also contains a blue tint, which will make your teeth look more attractive.
Regular ingestion of berries, coffee, red wine, and cola can all cause teeth staining. Sometimes, even prescription medications and fluoride can cause staining. Even if you brush your teeth daily, your teeth will likely stain over time if you regularly consume dark-colored substances.
Teeth look yellow when the enamel is thin and the dentin underneath shows through it. Dentin is a deep yellow to brownish material inside your teeth under the enamel, and it's often responsible for the yellow you see when you look in the mirror.
If your child is about 6-7 years old and their permanent teeth have started to erupt, you may notice that their permanent teeth look quite a bit more yellow than their baby teeth. Good news: this is normal.
Tell them that you care and that you're concerned about their health. Make sure they know you want to spend as much time with them as you can (poor oral health can lead to a shorter life). Never bring up this kind of issue in an accusatory or angry way.
A Matter of Genetics
Contrary to popular belief, naturally yellow teeth are not necessarily a sign of poor oral health. They may simply be an indication of naturally thin enamel and more dentin showing through.
In spite of our obsession with whiter teeth, most healthy teeth tend to have a light yellow hue. The outer layer of your teeth – the enamel – is a blue-white color. The middle layer – the dentin – is a thick tissue with a slightly yellow tinge.
Dentin, the hard inner surface of the tooth, contains a pulp that is yellowish in color. As enamel thins, the thicker interior will show through the more transparent, thin enamel surface. Yellow teeth can make you look even older than you are as well as give you an unhealthy appearance.
“'A new survey is out that says that 37% of people notice your smile first, while 33% notice your eyes, 15% judge your weight, 9% your hair, and 2% judge your nose. If you are surprised that weight or hair ranked so low, consider this: the biggest dating turn-off among men and women is bad teeth.
Dentists may offer in-office or at-home professional teeth whitening treatments. These methods use hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide to break up stains and lift them from your teeth. Professional whitening works best on surface (extrinsic) stains.
Teeth have different layers that give them the appearance you see on the outside. The outer layer, known as the enamel, contains a component of calcium, which tends to be white in color. But, the whiteness of enamel is sometimes out of your control.
Aging causes the outer layer of enamel on your teeth to slowly get worn away. This exposes the dentin—the yellowish tissue that makes up the bulk of teeth—and can make the teeth a lot more vulnerable to damage and decay.
For about two to six weeks, you can use dentist-recommended whitening toothpaste and brush twice a day. You can use a certified whitening mouthwash which usually takes about three months to produce visible results. Whitening strips are the most compelling in-house treatments that last up to six months.
These external stains cannot be removed simply by brushing, and are one of the most common causes of tooth discolouration. On the other hand, if you've suffered trauma or injury to your teeth, you might be left with an internal stain that can't be improved or removed by brushing.