Your teeth are so yellow, I can't believe it's not butter!'...our gift to you all this fine morning.
So we love ourselves a good LIST and we are going to keep this post short and sweet...let us have a look at what can cause teeth to discolour/stain:
1. DIET- Certain foods and beverages will have a higher content of colour pigments or CHROMOGENS. These pigments can attach to the enamel surface and cause superficial staining or penetrate through the enamel porosities for deeper more resistant stains.
Foods that have a high staining factor include those that have a lot of spices like turmeric and saffron such as curries and perhaps less known are dark berries such as blueberries and blackberries.
Coffee, tea, and red wine are the most common beverages to cause stains due to their high tannin concentration. Increased consumption of soda drinks which are highly acidic will thin the enamel layer, making your teeth seem more yellow also.
2. SMOKING- There are two chemicals in tobacco that stain teeth. These include TAR which is naturally dark and also NICOTINE which is colourless until it mixes with oxygen to turn a yellowish colour.
3. TRAUMA- If you experience any type of impact to teeth, they may change colour. This is because teeth react to injury by laying down more dentine. As mentioned dentine is darker/yellow in colour compared to enamel and will shine through more.
4. AGE- As we get older enamel becomes thinner due to wear and the dentine layer thickens. The yellow dentine becomes a lot more prominent. Enamel abrasion and receeding gums will also worsen with age having the same effect on the shade of teeth.
5. MEDICATIONS- Some medications such as antihistamines, antipsychotics, high blood pressure medications can either cause superficial or deeper staining depending on the medication and duration of use.
