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I brush twice after every meal and floss, yet my teeth are still yellow. I added whitestrips. Still yellow. Is the only way to keep white teeth to go to a dentist every six month and have them whitened, the way my neighbor does? She makes me feel hideous whenever she smiles. What am I doing wrong?
Chance
Dear Chance,
First, you have a lovely name. Full of mystery. Second, let me assure you that you are not the problem. Most people assume yellow teeth means poor oral hygiene. While true sometimes, there is more to the story. Even people with excellent brushing habits, such as yourself, will have their smiles grow darker over time. While brushing is essential and keeps your teeth healthy, it can’t prevent every cause of discoloration.
Why Do Teeth Turn Yellow?
There are a lot of reasons that your smile will lose its brightness. Here are just some of them:
- Coffee, tea, and red wine
- Tobacco products
- Dark-colored foods and beverages
- Natural aging and enamel thinning
- Certain medications
- Tooth trauma
- Genetics that influence tooth color
Some of these causes affect only the surface of your teeth, while others occur deep inside the tooth itself. The good news is that there are solutions for this, and you won’t have to do it every six months like your neighbor. She’s overtreating.
Can Brushing Alone Remove Tooth Stains?
Brushing removes plaque, bacteria, and food debris while helping reduce new surface stains before they settle into the enamel. However, brushing cannot reverse enamel thinning or remove deep internal discoloration.
Almost all whitening toothpastes can help polish away minor surface stains, but they do that by using abrasives which end up damaging the enamel on your teeth, causing them to pick up more stains. Plus, they don’t contain enough whitening ingredients to significantly change the natural shade of your teeth.
So why aren’t your whitestrips helping?
Products like Crest Whitestrips do whiten teeth but they are too weak to make a difference without buying a LOT of kits, plus they only cover the front six teeth. Most smiles are eight to ten teeth wide.
Advantages of Professional Teeth Whitening
- Stronger whitening ingredients. Over the counter products have to use weaker gel for consumer safety because you’re not under the care of a dentist.
- Treatment customized to your individual smile. Kits you can buy without a dentist will not be formed to your bite. Your dentist will make you custom fitted whitening trays.
- More even whitening results.
- Professional supervision to reduce sensitivity.
- Faster, more noticeable improvement.
If you’re in a hurry, in-office Zoom Whitening will give you dramatic results in just one appointment.
Can Existing Dental Work Be Whitened?
Professional teeth whitening works wonderfully on your natural teeth, but it will not change the color of your dental work. If you have crowns or porcelain veneers, etc., those will not whiten. They will have to be redone to match your new white color.
How Can You Keep Your Teeth Whiter Longer?
After whitening your smile, a few simple habits can help preserve your results:
- Continue with your brushing and flossing using a fluoride toothpaste.
- Make sure you go in for regular cleanings with your dentist.
- Schedule touch-up whitening as recommended. Keep your whitening trays. Your dentist can periodically give you a gel to do touchups. You shouldn’t need to do it more than once every two years or so with good maintenance.
- I recommend Supersmile Toothpaste, which is the only safe whitening toothpaste I’m aware of.
I hope this helps.
This blog is brought to you by a compassionate dentist in Baton Rouge, Dr. John Theriot.