Yellow Teeth: The Most Common Causes

What Causes Yellow Teeth?

Bright, white teeth are associated with youthfulness and beauty. Unfortunately, your teeth are exposed to many different stain-causing agents throughout your life that can detract from the beauty of your smile and causeyellow teeth.

Teeth Whitening in Chandler

Teeth Yellowing

Yellow teeth are a common complaint that patients bring to their dental appointments, and treatments such astooth whitening or bonding can help restore your teeth back to a whiter hue.

However, the best way to avoid yellow teeth is through prevention. As you work on improving your oral health, watch out for these common causes of yellowing teeth so that you can take prompt action.

Consuming Dark-Colored Food and Beverages

Yellow teeth are often caused by stains from the food and drinks you enjoy every day. While you may simply worry about cavities from the sugar in your soda, the truth is that dark-colored colas can also leave behind stain-causing residue that does not brush away easily.

Red wine, berries, coffee and tea are a few more known causes of yellowing teeth. Although you may not want to abstain from your favorite foods completely, there are things that you can do to avoid being stuck with the stains.

Consider sipping dark beverages through a straw so that they do not make contact with your teeth and rinse your mouth with water after you eat and drink to remove leftover residue.

Smoking Tobacco Products Can Cause Teeth Yellowing

Tobacco has many known risks, and there are many reasons to quit smoking, including your teeth.

Every time you inhale on a tobacco product, the smoke enters your mouth and leaves a coating on your teeth.

Over time, you will notice that your teeth have taken on the yellow pigment left behind by tobacco, and this can advance to brown stains if it continues for too long.

While you should try to quit smoking to prevent other oral health issues such as gum disease, regular visits to your dentist can help reduce the stains through proper cleanings.

Advancing Age

Tooth enamel is one of the hardest parts of your body. However, it is also susceptible to the effects of aging.

Over time, the exposure to acids in your mouth causes the white enamel to thin. Once this happens, the underlying dentin being revealed can make your teeth look more yellow. This is the reason why teeth yellowing is a common complaints among the elderly. 

The best way to prevent this is to focus on minimizing acid erosion in your mouth by limiting how long acidic food or drinks stay in your mouth.

For instance, it is better to drink orange juice at once rather than sip on it over an hour or two.

You can also prevent enamel erosion by learning how to brush your teeth properly so that you do not rub the surface of your teeth away with your toothbrush.

Skimping on Dental Hygiene

Tartar and plaque are the primary causes of tooth discoloration that are easily preventable. Make sure that you brush your teeth at least twice a day to remove food debris that accumulates throughout the day.

Then, visit your dentist according to the recommended schedule for regular cleanings that help remove the tartar and plaque that you might miss during your daily oral hygiene sessions.

Yellow teeth detract from your smile and can interfere with your desire to laugh and greet others with confidence.

Now that you know what causes yellow teeth, make sure to implement proper oral hygiene strategies into your daily routine, so that you can look forward to always feeling confident flashing your pearly whites at the people you meet.

Shumway Dental Care is accepting new patients and would love to be yourChandler dentist. Call our office today for an appointment. We look forward to meeting you!