What factors contribute to a gorgeous smile? Your teeth, after all, are the most significant feature of your smile. White and sparkling teeth may enhance the beauty of your smile. Stains can discolour your teeth on the surface or by causing changes inside the tooth. The hue of these dots might range from yellowish-brown to black-brown. There are many forms of tooth discolouration that can occur:
Extrinsic staining
This happens when the outer layer of the tooth, commonly known as the enamel, becomes discoloured. Teeth stains may be caused by a variety of foods and beverages, including coffee, wine, and cola. Furthermore, smoking might result in external stains.
Intrinsic stains
This arise when the inner structure of the tooth, commonly known as the dentin, darkens or takes on a yellow colour. This type of stain usually occurs if you were exposed to too much fluoride as a child, used tetracycline antibiotics when you were 8 years old or younger, had trauma to a tooth as a child, trauma in a permanent tooth resulted in internal bleeding that discoloured the tooth, or you were born with a rare condition called dentinogenesis imperfecta, which resulted in grey, amber, or purple discolorations.
Age-related tooth stains
This can be caused by a mix of external and intrinsic causes. Dentin begins to yellow naturally over time. As you get older, the enamel that covers your teeth begins to wear away, exposing the dentin. Furthermore, major traumas can darken a tooth, especially if the soft tissue is affected.
Oral hygiene is vital for keeping a bright smile. Aside from cleaning your teeth, it is also critical to monitor what you eat and drink. Certain chemical components known as chromogens give meals and beverages a bright hue, and they can stain your teeth. Additionally, a chemical known as tannin, which is found in meals and beverages, can discolour your teeth. Furthermore, acids can deteriorate your teeth.
Some of the foods and beverages that might cause tooth staining or discolouration are listed below:
Red Wine
Red wine is one of the most prevalent causes of tooth discoloration. Anthocyanins, the red pigment found in grapes, are responsible for the colour of red wine. Tannins are also present in red wine, lending it a wonderful flavour. Strong pigments in red wine, known as chromogens, give it a deep, strong colour and leave a stain on your teeth even after only a few sips. Red wine, like these elements, is acidic. The acidity in red wine increases enamel degradation, making it more porous and easier for stains to adhere.
So it’s acceptable to have a glass of wine every now and then. Just remember to clean and floss your teeth prior to filling a glass, wash your mouth afterward to avoid red wine from remaining on your teeth, eat some food (particularly fibrous food) as you drink, and so on.
Coffee and tea
Tea and coffee both contain tannins, which are the primary cause of tooth darkening and discolouration. Tea and coffee stains arise when tannins from these beverages accumulate on tooth enamel. Teas of all hues, even white tea, can discolour and degrade enamel.
However, black teas and dark coffees are the most responsible for discoloration. These drinks can change the pH balance of your mouth, making acidic items you consume later destroy your teeth faster. Lowering your tea and coffee consumption will enhance both your dental and general health.
You may also follow some advice such as adding additional milk or cream to your tea or coffee, brushing and flossing after eating these beverages and rinsing your mouth or drinking water after having a cup of tea or coffee to help prevent discoloured teeth. To remove existing stains, you may also use several teeth whitening solutions.
Berries
Berries, without a dispute, provide several health advantages and serve as antioxidants. The dark colour of blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, and raspberries may stain no matter how they are consumed, whether they are eaten whole, drunk as juice, or processed as jelly and jam.
To avoid teeth stains and discoloration caused by berries, practice good oral hygiene habits such as drinking water to fight their staining influence, not leaving berries in your mouth for too long, and finishing with a glass of milk or a piece of hard cheese to neutralise acid and strengthen your teeth.
Sodas, colas, and other carbonated beverages
Sodas, such as cola and other carbonated drinks, typically include high fructose corn syrup, which can create dental stains by discolouring teeth and making them seem brown, yellow, or dirty. To give soda a good flavour, phosphoric acid is added. This material, however, is an acid that is mostly responsible for the deterioration of dental enamel.
Teeth with weaker enamel are more vulnerable to the stain-causing chemicals found in many foods and beverages. Furthermore, a colouring component known as chromogens is added to cola, which contributes to tooth staining. To avoid tooth staining, restrict your consumption of carbonated beverages. If you must consume these drinks on occasion, make sure to maintain proper dental hygiene by brushing and flossing on a regular basis.
Other suggestions include using a straw while drinking soda to minimize direct contact between the soda and your teeth, completely rinsing your mouth with water after drinking soda, and so on. You can also get your teeth whitened to remove existing stains.
Foods High in Citrus and Acidity
Tomatoes and citrus fruits are abundant in nutrients, however, they are acidic and can have an acidic effect on dental enamel. These acidic and citrus fruits erode tooth enamel, revealing dentin, a yellowish tissue beneath the enamel composed of calcium and phosphate crystals. Citrus flavourings such as lime, lemon, and orange may also contribute acid to drinks. Furthermore, natural liquids like orange juice and lemonade are acidic. As a result, these beverages should only be consumed on rare occasions.
To prevent teeth stains from citrus and acidic foods, seek to prevent or restrict your consumption of acidic beverages, including soft drinks, always use a straw to avoid direct contact between citrus beverages and your teeth, do not keep these types of drinks in your mouth for longer periods of time, rinse your mouth with water after acidic meals or beverages, and have a snack of cheese, dairy food, or any other calcium-rich foods to neutralize acids.
Foods that surprisingly play a part behind teeth staining
If you’re worried about staining your pearly whites, you could attempt to avoid staining meals and drinks. Check. Coffee. Check. Chocolate. Check! Red wine! But there is undoubtedly a slew of more things that you had no idea were causing tooth discolouration.
White Wine
You may have switched to white wine after finding that red wine caused your teeth to discolour. Nature, however, has performed a little joke on you, because white wine may be almost as staining as red wine. This is because the acid in wine weakens and erodes your enamel, which is one of the leading causes of discoloration. Because tooth enamel softens, staining substances can penetrate. And the erosion thins your enamel, allowing the darker dentin beneath to shine through.
Carbonated Waters and Clear Sodas
Giving up cola to keep your teeth white appears to be a logical option, but if you replace it with clear soda or carbonated water, you may not be helping yourself much. The concern is the same as with white wine: these are still extremely acidic beverages that can discolour your teeth and damage your enamel.
Green Tea
People transition from black tea to green tea for the same reasons they change from red wine, however, green tea should not be deemed stain-free and there are valid reasons for that. Green tea contains the same chemicals that cause black tea to stain your teeth but in a somewhat different form. Green tea use on a daily basis might result in yellowed teeth.
How does green tea differ from black tea? And the answer is Oxidation. To modify the colour of the tea leaves, they are matured under regulated temperature and humidity. Of course, the most active component in the process is oxygen. That means the same thing may happen in your mouth but in a less effective manner. This implies that the staining compounds in green tea will most likely darken once stuck in your teeth.
Apples
Apples may appear white within, but that’s just a stain waiting to happen. Apples and many other fruits include polyphenol oxidase, a ripening agent that also causes browning. It’s an oxidation process, similar to the one that turns green tea into black tea, and it can happen almost as well in your mouth as it does in the air, resulting in chemicals that become brown and become embedded in your enamel.
Apples are slightly acidic as well. In reality, this is beneficial since it allows you to clean your teeth after a meal. When combined with the crisp texture, apples are a terrific way to end a meal, but if you want to prevent stains, complete with a glass of water.
Potatoes
Potatoes suffer from the same issue as apples, except the oxidation culprit is tyrosine. After heating, potatoes undergo another chemical process that causes them to turn genuinely black. This is due to the presence of iron and chlorogenic acid in potatoes, which may combine to generate a black colour. Contact with an aluminum or iron saucepan might hasten this process. It’s possible that exposure to metal amalgam fillings aided the response, although no one seems to have investigated this possibility.
These are some of the most common foods and beverages that cause tooth staining and discolouration. You may keep your attractive smile by reducing your intake of certain types of meals and drinks. To avoid the problem of tooth stains, it is also necessary to keep a balanced diet, make a few modest lifestyle modifications, and maintain proper dental hygiene. If you already have stains on your teeth, you must use high-quality stain-removing and teeth-whitening treatments at home.
You Can’t Get Rid of Staining
The point of this debate is that you can’t avoid staining meals and beverages entirely because there are hundreds more options we might have included on this list. Avoiding some of the greatest offenders (including smoking, which is not only terrible for the appearance of your teeth but also bad for their health!) will delay discoloration, but it will not eliminate it entirely.
But it doesn’t mean you have to put up with stains. Teeth whitening might assist in removing some of the stains. It is recommended to get your teeth whitened by a cosmetic dentist. We propose ceramic veneers for poor discolouration or discoloration inside the teeth, which may cover up stains and make teeth nearly as white as you want them. Porcelain veneers offer the added benefit of being stain-resistant.