If you're sure that the staining is caused by the foods or beverages you're consuming, there's a simple home remedy that can often help whiten them again. Mix baking soda and water, and brush your teeth with it every few days to supplement your typical oral care routine.
Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide
Using a paste made of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide is said to remove plaque buildup and bacteria to get rid of stains. Mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda with 2 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide to make a paste. Rinse your mouth thoroughly with water after brushing with this paste.
A home tooth-whitening kit contains carbamide peroxide, a bleach that can remove both deep and surface stains and actually changes your natural tooth color. If you have coffee-stained teeth, a tooth-bleaching kit can help. With some kits, you apply a peroxide-based gel (with a small brush) to the surface of your teeth.
Intrinsic stains cannot be removed, but they can be covered up with cosmetic options. Extrinsic stains can usually be removed with whitening. Professional whitening may be necessary for some deep, longstanding set-in stains.
If you're sure that the staining is caused by the foods or beverages you're consuming, there's a simple home remedy that can often help whiten them again. Mix baking soda and water, and brush your teeth with it every few days to supplement your typical oral care routine.
If discoloration is caused by tartar or medical conditions, a person may need to visit a dentist. A dentist or dental hygienist will use instruments to scrape, blast, or rub tartar and plaque away from teeth. A dentist may also perform minor procedures to whiten the teeth and protect them from further decay.
While most teeth stains can be treated with whitening, some severe stains and all internal stains may not be treatable with traditional whitening methods. Your teeth may also become more yellow as you age because your enamel tends to thin and wear out.
Yes, most stains can easily be lifted from the teeth with professional whitening treatments. The strength of our treatments help patients transform their smile to a dazzling white! It is important to note that internal stains are more difficult to remove.
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.
Does brushing with baking soda damage teeth? Brushing once a day with baking soda or on occasion will not damage the teeth. However, brushing too hard or too often with it can lead to damaged tooth enamel. Some people also mix the baking soda with lemon juice, strawberries or other ingredients to clean the teeth.
Since it's naturally acidic, it helps break down plaque or other substances stuck to the teeth. The pH of apple cider vinegar can remove stains from your teeth, which helps naturally whiten your teeth.
Intrinsic stains occur deep in the tooth.
You may need to visit your dentist for a professional whitening if your tooth stains just won't go away. Crowns, caps or cosmetic veneers can also correct stubborn tooth discoloration that even professional whitening can't fix.
These stains can usually be reversed with regular dental cleanings or by brushing your teeth using a toothpaste with whitening power. The stains come back, however, if plaque builds again or you continue to use the products that stained your teeth in the first place.
Because baking soda removes discoloration from the surface of your teeth, it won't remove deeper stains. According to the Mayo Clinic, toothpaste containing baking soda can help coffee and smoking stains, and it could take between two to six weeks for you to notice a difference.
Plaque buildup can also accumulate, leaving teeth dirty and yellow. Brushing, flossing and regular dentist visits can usually remove yellow plaque buildup, but over time without regular care, plaque can actually permanently stain your teeth.
Dentistry for seniors suggests tooth whitening can be done at any age of adulthood. Tooth whitening products remove built-up stains and brighten the enamel. They are affordable and easy-to-use solutions to the problem of aging yellow teeth.
Teeth that have yellowed with age
As we age, the enamel becomes thinner due to wear and tear, revealing the underlying layer of tooth structure called dentin. Dentin is naturally yellowish and cannot be lightened with teeth whitening products.
Tartar buildup is most common between teeth and along your gum line. The tartar itself is porous and is highly susceptible to discoloration and staining. Foods, beverages, and other factors can turn it a noticeable brown color as a result.
For example, scraping the brown spots from the teeth should only be done by a dental professional. If not done professionally, the scraping might even cause further damage to the tooth's enamel (and thereby introduce new sites for food debris and bacteria to accumulate).
Tooth Decay and Tartar
Tooth decay and cavities can look like brown stains, and when plaque hardens, it forms a yellow or brown substance called tartar, which lies along the gum line.
Although whitening is usually done for cosmetic reasons, your dentist can guide you on what options you have for treating the type of staining you have. The good news is that in many cases reversing teeth stains is within our reach. That makes pursuing a healthy white smile worthwhile.
Having a simple scale and polish can often remove the majority of superficial surface stains. Some dentists also are able to provide an intensive clean using a prophy-jet system, which blasts stains away using bicarbonate particles.
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.
Baking soda (also called sodium bicarbonate) is an abrasive compound that can remove the stains that are caused by drinking coffee, tea, smoking, etc. and the debris on the surface of the teeth to make the teeth appear whiter and brighter.