Why Should I Whiten My Teeth?

Before you whiten your teeth, you should ask yourself, “why is it important to improve my smile?” One of the primary reasons we have patients requesting teeth withening is to boost their confidence by having a beautiful, healthy smile. Other reasons to whiten your teeth can include: 

• Trying to achieve a younger look in their appearance,
• Getting married or are going to an important event,
• Fighting against years of aging and wear on teeth,
• Reversing yellow and brown blemishes sustained in an accident.

The list goes on and on, but all of the reasons fall back into one goal and purpose – to achieve the smile you have always wanted.

Yellow teeth aren’t always an indication that you aren’t taking good care of yourself. Sometimes, there are a multitude of other factors in a person’s lifestyle that will contribute to darkening or yellowing teeth – it’s not always correlated with your health.

Damaged, unhealthy, and missing teeth can not only affect your smile, but your oral health as a whole. Luckily, your dental professional can restore your smile with a common dental crown procedure. Dental crowns for teeth can come in a range of materials and with a technologically advanced dental office such as Midtown Dental, your procedure can be completed the same day.

Why Are My Teeth Are Turning Yellow?

There are a number of factors that can create a yellow tone on your teeth. Some of the reasons you may experience yellow looking teeth or develop a brownish tint may be due to the following reasons:

• Acidic Drinks – Drinking coffee or tea on a daily basis.
• Smoking – Cigarettes and other tobacco products are harmful for all aspects of your oral hygiene, especially with the color of your teeth.
• Practicing Poor Eating Habits – An unhealthy diet can ruin the color of your teeth, especially if you consume the following:
  • Processed foods that have high acid levels.
  • Sugary drinks and candies ruin enamel (coffee, tea, wine).
  • Highly acidic and sugar-rich fruits.
• Aging – Discoloration of your teeth can begin in your late 20s or 30s depending on multiple factors in your lifestyle, as well as genetics.
• Xerostomia (Dry Mouth Condition) – Low saliva levels prevent the enamel on your teeth from being nourished with healthy bacteria-fighting agents.
• Fluoride – If you’re intake levels are high, this can destroy your enamel (typically starts in childhood).
• Antibiotics – There are some antibiotics can destroy the enamel and leave your teeth vulnerable to discoloring. A few notable antibiotics that yellow your teeth are:
  • Tetracycline (When given to children before the age of 8 years old)
  • Doxycycline (When given to children before the age of 8 years old)
• Plaque & Tartar – The accumulation of these bacterial deposits can ruin your teeth and how they look.

Taking some time to reflect on how your teeth are losing or have lost their glowing white color can be the first step in a lifestyle change. While there are some instances where uncontrollable factors may discolor your teeth, you have control over lifestyle habits that can contribute to your unhealthy dental hygiene.