What Causes Yellow Teeth?

Have you ever wondered what causes yellow teeth? There are quite a few different things that can cause teeth to be yellow. First of all it’s necessary to understand that your teeth aren’t naturally supposed to be white. The tooth is normally a yellowish color in its natural state. Any pure white teeth that you see on the streets and on TV are due to some type of bleaching effect. But as I am sure you’ve noticed some people’s teeth are much more yellow than other people’s teeth. So what is it that causes the difference in the yellowness of teeth?

Getting older - Everyone’s teeth naturally getting more and more yellow the older you get. They start to lose coloration and gain that yellowish hue. No matter how much you brush and floss every day over the years your teeth will turn to a more yellow color. Stains get past the thin layer of white and seep into the enamel over the years which creates the yellow color. So along with the hairs on your head changing color you’re going to have to worry about the teeth in your mouth changing color as well.

What you eat and drink affects your bright smile – One factor that can affect the whiteness of your teeth are the foods that you eat and the beverages that you drink. Drinking too much soda pop can cause discoloration of your teeth. The excessive amount of sugar wears down the outside of your teeth and allows easier staining. Another huge contributor is the coffee. Coffee drinkers tend to have much yellower teeth than non-drinkers. The nicotine in cigarettes is also a huge factor in causing discoloration. There are foods and beverages that make your teeth darker, the worst offenders being red wine, cigarettes, soda drinks, coffee, chocolate, and berries. Avoid these foods and drinks and you can save yourself a trip to the dentist for a teeth whitening procedure.

Accidents – Some people may just have one or two teeth that are very yellow. This can be caused from damage to the internal portions of the tooth. It’s possible to get decay at the root of the tooth which causes the tooth to start to decay away and die which results in yellowness and even black and brown around the edges. If this is the case, see your dentist to get this fixed because just teeth whitening won’t fix your problem.

Antibiotics - Consumption of certain antibiotics during your early years can result in yellow teeth.

So before you go try to get your teeth whitened make sure you understand why your teeth are yellow. If it’s coffee drinking or just aging then bleaching can help fix your problem, but if you have a damaged tooth than go get it fixed first and then try to whiten it later.

Teeth Whitening > What Causes Yellow Teeth?