Staining on Teeth

Q.
Via email Friday January 8, 2010
It seems that my teeth stain very easily. Once I leave the dentist my teeth are clean but within 1-2 months I develop quite a bit of stain on my front teeth. Why is that? Steve C.

A.
Thank you for the great question Steve. First off, stain on the teeth can result from both extrinsic (on the outside of the teeth) or intrinsic (from the inside). It sounds like in your case we are talking about extrinsic so I will just touch on that.

Extrinsic stain can come from certain sources, mainly be what we consume (food or beverages). Think of the exposed portion of your tooth (the crown) and what it is made of enamel, to be similar in composition to a china cup. When you have tea in a china cup over time you get brown stain accumulating on it, this is quite similar to how stain forms on your teeth.

Besides tea, many foods that have pigments have the potential to cause stain such as berries, vegetables, sauces like soya, chili, ketchup and a variety of others that I will not list here. Beverages such as, coffee, cola, grape juice and red wine all have pigments that can stain. As well, smoking can be very staining (besides an oral health concern).

Extrinsic stain can be easily removed with a dental office polish, but you can do a few things at home to prevent stain from accumulating between dental visits. First, try using baking soda a few times a week on your toothbrush, this may help remove light stain on the teeth if used consistently (please ask your dentist if this is appropriate prior). Using an electric Sonic toothbrush is great to help prevent stain buildup. Lastly you can try drinking beverages using a straw as it prevents contact of beverages on the teeth.

Some toothpastes on the market proclaim that they whiten but in my personal opinion I don't find that these toothpastes to contact the teeth long enough to do really anything BUT some may help prevent stain buildup as they are slightly more abrasive (once again please ask your dentist prior to using these as they may not be suitable for every situation).

Thanks for a great question!