Change is inevitable.

When it comes to teeth, there’s one thing you can be sure of—they tend to change. This isn’t always a bad thing, as aging is truly a natural process. But watching your teeth yellow with age sometimes feels like adding insult to injury.

The aging process happens no matter what we do. But there are things we can do to help turn back the clock on our yellowing teeth, and things we can watch out for to slow the process down.

Understanding Tooth Stains

Stains can be more complicated than you might think. In fact, there are two specific kinds, intrinsic and extrinsic. Stains that begin on the inside are known as intrinsic, while stains that begin on the outside are extrinsic.

Intrinsic staining often means there is an underlying problem within the tooth itself. This may be due to a previous injury, or even an infection. Unfortunately, intrinsic staining can sometimes come with discomfort or even pain. Because it’s so deep inside the tooth, this type of staining can be much harder to get rid of.

Because extrinsic staining is on the outside of the tooth, it is typically a cosmetic problem and doesn’t involve pain. Typically, this kind of staining appears due to lifestyle choices such as diet. Thankfully, this kind of staining is much easier to fix through tooth whitening.

Top 5 Tooth-Staining Culprits

As much as we don’t like to admit it to ourselves, what we eat affects our entire bodies—the color of our teeth as well. This doesn’t mean we have to avoid the following treats entirely, but it’s a good idea to enjoy them in moderation. And, whatever you do, be sure to continue with your regular oral hygiene routine to avoid tooth decay!

1. Coffee and Tea

Let’s face it, the majority of us are addicted to coffee or tea in one way or another. For some, stopping at the coffee shop on the way to work is a ritual. For others, that morning habit may give us just a little extra energy to get through the day. Either way, the dark pigments in the coffee contribute to extrinsic tooth stains. The tannins in the drinks get into that enamel and stick around long after you’ve finished your morning drink.

2. Tobacco Use

Another common culprit of tooth staining is tobacco products. These can cause severe extrinsic and intrinsic staining over time. The tar inside the products discolors the teeth, and the tobacco itself gives the teeth a yellowish tinge when exposed to oxygen.

3. Red Wine

Though a very popular way to wind down in the evenings, wine has a bad habit of staining the teeth. The tannins inside this beverage settle into the enamel and start the process of staining those teeth.

4. Other Colored Beverages

The highly-acidic beverages, like soda and fruit juice, are great at staining teeth. Not only are they usually packed full of sugar, but they are filled with colored dies that transfer straight to the teeth.

5. Berries and Sauces

Though berries are incredibly good for you and tasty, you have to watch out for their staining abilities. With their intensely bold pigments and acidity levels, they are good at etching away at the enamel. The same goes for brightly colored sauces and dishes like curry.

Teeth Whitening at Parmer Lane Family Dentistry

If you’re dealing with discolored teeth, hope is not lost. We here at Parmer Lane Family Dentistry offer multiple options for tooth whitening.

Zoom! Teeth whitening is one option that can brighten your teeth by up to eight shades in only one visit. It’s powerful enough to work on those deep stains. As if that isn’t enough, it can be finished in only 15 minutes. After your professional teeth whitening, you’re bound to feel like a new person.

If you don’t have the time to visit the office, we also offer in-home whitening treatments. These are done with custom trays filled just for you. With this option, you don’t have to wonder if you grabbed a safe product from the store—we’ve got you covered!

Stains happen—we can fix them.

Tooth staining happens. Whether from habits such as tobacco, coffee, or wine or simply from aging. If you want to turn back the clock on aging, you might be surprised by what professional tooth whitening can do for you.

Are you ready? Jump online and request an appointment! We’re here to give you the whitened, healthy smile of your dreams!