Natural Health October 2017

PREVENTION & Remedies
The Two Types of Stains
There are two main categories of stains
that cause our teeth to be discoloured.
Intrinsic:
Intrinsic stains occur when the deeper
layer of tissue, the dentin, becomes
discolored.
of our teeth just under the outer enamel
layer) naturally has an ‘off white’ colour.
So if we wear through our enamel
more quickly, our teeth will seem
more discoloured.
Why Do Teeth
Turn Yellow?
Teeth become discoloured, turning yellow
or even a beige or brown colour, due to
stains that develop on both the surface of
teeth (the enamel) as well as deeper in
the teeth’s structure. Tooth enamel is the
hard, white surface of your teeth.
Common causes of intrinsic
stains are:
Dental fluorosis – when a person is
exposed to too much fluoride while the
teeth were forming
Antibiotic exposure – exposure
to tetracycline early in life can cause
intrinsic stains
Tooth trauma
– if you injure a
tooth badly, it
can permanently
discolour
Extrinsic:
Extrinsic stains are what most of us think
of when we want to whiten our teeth.
Extrinsic stains are on/in the surface
enamel layer of tissue on our teeth.
To help stop causing extrinsic stains on
your teeth, avoid common staining foods,
the first step to having naturally
whiter teeth.
Age-related:
Honourable mention goes to
age-related discolouration.
Teeth tend to yellow as we age. The
main reasons for this are accumulated
stains and a thinning of enamel. You
see, dentin (the layer of tissue in each
After a handful of decades drinking
coffee and brushing unconsciously, you
can see why teeth yellow with age. If
we allow stains to accumulate while we
brush our teeth like we were scrubbing
a grout line, the combination of extrinsic
stains and thinning enamel will hasten
results in ‘age related’ discoloration.
Let’s continue to establish some definitions
to base our discussion on
What’s the
difference between
‘whitening’ and
‘bleaching’?
While both terms whitening and
bleaching are used for making
our teeth whiter, our culture
definitely has leaned toward
using the term whitening, at
least in part because industry
realised that using the term
bleaching is bad for marketing
such products.
Underneath enamel is a pale brown
substance called dentin, which can
become more visible when enamel gets
thinner – a very common occurrence
for many adults. Dental erosion (erosive
tooth wear) results from chronic loss
of dental hard tissue that is chemically
etched away from the tooth surface by
acid and/or chelation (without bacterial
involvement). Some of the reasons
enamel thins? Risk factors include ageing,
genetics and intake of foods that promote
erosion and/or staining. Many of these
same unhealthy habits also increase your
risk for gum disease.
While it’s unrealistic to expect that
your teeth will remain shiny and very
white into older age, many factors that
accelerate the rate of teeth discolouration
can be avoided.
Some of the reasons teeth turn
yellow, beige or brown include:
• Drinking coffee or tea
• Smoking cigarettes
• Thinning tooth enamel due to aging
• Suffering from dry mouth (since lack
of saliva means less protection for
enamel)
• Breathing through your mouths and
having blocked nasal passages. These
lower saliva and prevent the teeth/
mouth from remoisturising
• Antibiotic use
• Excessive fluoride intake, especially if
this habit starts when you’re a child
• Genetic factors
• Eating a poor diet. This includes
consuming lots of processed foods high
in acid, including
soft drinks/
soda, candies or
sometimes certain
fruits. Even some
supplements can
worsen enamel
thinning due to
containing acids.
56 Natural Health * October 2017 VOL 84