Why Do Our Teeth Lose Their Whiteness?
How diet and lifestyle can discolour our teeth.
There can be a presumption that, as long as we brush our teeth well, not only will they remain free of problems like tooth decay, but that they will stay a nice white colour too.
Although effective brushing will certainly help with this, unfortunately, our teeth are faced with other challenges over our lifetime.
The ‘bad stuff’ first
Let’s start off by saying, quite frankly, that if you smoke, you are likely to significantly increase your risk of a number of dental issues. The most obvious of these is that your teeth will almost certainly become stained, eventually turning yellow or even brown. Other problems, such as gum disease and oral cancers are also more likely in smokers than non smokers. Hopefully, most of our Greenwich patients will have managed to break this health damaging habit.
A convenient diet
Perhaps the majority of patients at the Confidental Clinic fall into this category. They go about their daily lives, often being quite busy. Our diet, in this type of lifestyle, may include some home cooking, but more often than not, this may be relegated as takeaways and convenience microwave foods take precedence. Whilst these have undoubtedly improved in general quality over the years, many still contain high amounts of hidden sugars. These can lead to damage of the surface enamel, causing it to become pitted, thereby making it easier for staining products such as tea, to become trapped in the tiny pits.
The healthy diet
We sometimes meet patients who are confused by the fact that their teeth have become stained. They say that they avoid tea, drinking instead beverages such as hot water and lemon, and they eat a lot of fruit which is about as natural as it can get. What some patients fail to recognise though, is that whilst fruit is certainly healthy, it still contains sugar, albeit natural sugars. Unfortunately these are are just as damaging to the teeth as refined sugar. In addition to this, some fruits, especially citric ones such as oranges and lemons, also contain high acid levels which can damage the teeth enamel in excess. So moderation is important.
The ‘perfect’ diet
Is there such as thing as a ‘perfect’ diet? Probably not, but even with the best diet in the world, our teeth will eventually become discoloured. Often, this discolouration originates below the enamel and happens naturally as we grow older. There is nothing that can currently be done to prevent this happening, but our Greenwich cosmetic dental team can certainly help to restore the whiteness using our popular teeth whitening treatment. This is a straightforward and pain free process that can bring back the whiteness of your smile in no time at all.
If you would like to discover more about how we can reverse your tooth discolouration, please contact the Confidental Clinic on 020 8858 1422.