Discoloured teeth

Discoloured teeth

The colour of teeth and molars is different for everyone. One person has naturally white teeth, someone else may have a bit more yellow ones. Teeth are not all the same colour anyway. Sometimes the colour of one single tooth is very different from the other teeth.

Dentin and enamel

Teeth are made up of dentin and enamel. The colour of the dentin and the thickness of the enamel mainly make up the colour of the tooth. The original colour of the dentin is hereditary. The enamel of teeth and molars is almost transparent. The canines (corner teeth) have a thicker layer of dentin than the other teeth, which makes them often more yellow.

What is the reason for discoloured teeth and molars?

Teeth and molars can discolour due to changes in the tooth or molar surface (external discolourations/on the outside) and discolourations in the dentin and enamel (internal discolourations/on the inside).

How do you get external discolourations?

External discolourations are the result of colourings in all kinds of foods, drinks and things like candy getting into the dental plaque (the white-yellow layer on teeth and molars). This happens, among other things, by drinking coffee, tea and red wine. Smoking is also a reason for discolouration.

External discolourations can be treated. The dentist or prevention assistant can only remove what is on your teeth by polishing the teeth.

How do you get internal discolourations?

Internal discolourations are the result of:

• A fall or a hard blow to the tooth. Your tooth may turn yellow, gray or blue. That is called a 'dead' tooth. The death of your dental nerve is the reason for the discolouration. If the tooth slowly turns yellow, it is a sign that the dental nerve is slowly disappearing. These discolourations can usually be corrected by the dentist.
• The aging process. Your enamel layer becomes thinner and the layer of dentin thickens. Cracks appear in the thinner glaze. As a result, colourings in all kinds of foods, drinks and things like candy get into the tooth more easily. Usually, the dentist can treat this discolouration.
• A gray or black filling in your tooth. As a result, it has a different colour than your other teeth. You can have a gray amalgam filling replaced by a white (plastic) filling.
• Something that went wrong in the development in the very beginning of a tooth (germ) or the use of medicines at a young age. These discolourations are often like stripes or irregular. The dentist can grind away such discolourations and replace them with a tooth-coloured filling material.

 Internal discolourations can often be repaired by the dentist. In some cases, the dentist will grind away the discolourations and fill them with tooth-coloured material. In other cases, whitening treatments can be successful.