Dr. Prashanth Y V

Yellow teeth ruining your smile? see what's the solution it's not always whitening!

January is around the corner and along comes a new year with its numerous resolutions and promises on improving ourselves. Be it the latest diet or the promise to workout we all want to look and feel our best. If your dental resolution is to stop living with a yellow smile then here's a combination of home remedies and dental treatment tips to make you smile bright and white this new year.

Depending on the existing colour of your teeth and how bright you want your teeth to be, we have here some options ranging from the mildest to the most impactful colour change.

#1. Light yellow teeth: clean better!

Plaque and other food deposits can make your teeth look unclean and discolored. Most often the original white of your teeth can be restored by a simple clean up procedure that washes away all the discolored food particles.

#2. Yellow to brown teeth: eat better!

An indian diet with turmeric coupled with our addiction to anything from tea, green tea, coffee, red wine to even smoking can lead to excessive staining of our teeth. While it may seem impossible to avoid what we are habituated to it's equally necessary to compensate by frequent cleaning and whitening procedures based on your frequency and level of exposure to these staining substances.

#3. Natural white: naturally

Home remedies which have no side effects like a pinch of baking soda mixed with crushed strawberries or 3-4 drops of lemon are often used to whiten teeth by scrubbing away the stained particles. Malic and citric acid present in strawberries and lime respectively gives an instant whitening effect without harming the natural layers of the teeth.

#4. Frequent yellowing: brighten at home

If you're looking for more than just a natural clean white colour but want it done with as little chemical exposure as possible then home bleach is the best option for you. Removable, transparent, custom made plastic moulds of your teeth can be made in just one session. You can then put in a few drops of a low concentration gel bleach into these as they snugly fit onto your teeth. Keep them in the mouth for 45 minutes daily for up to 7 days. This procedure is done as directed by a registered dentist. This gives you a bright white colour with minimal or no side effects and the additional benefit is that it can be repeated just before an occasion or every time you feel there is yellowing of teeth.

#5. Brilliant white: in under an hour!

If you want nothing less than super bright then a very standard and recognized procedure is that of the office bleach done in the dental chair in under 45 minutes. Here we use a more concentrated bleach to get you noticeable and long lasting results. Done in cycles every 10-15 minutes to show you the colour improvement and prevent side effects and discomfort. Certain precautions must be observed for 7 days after the bleach and it is recommended once annually to maintain the colour.

A word of caution for the over the counter products that claim to work brilliantly to whiten teeth but overuse or unsupervised use of the same may lead to irreversible tooth damage.

Even with this array of information and multitude of options available for your convenience- a consultation with your dentist for your perfect white smile, will work best before you decide to take matters into your own hands.

You could have yellow teeth due to one of the following reasons:

    Genetically yellowed or dull when formed.
    Age-related reduction or thinning of enamel and exposure of dentin.
    Excessively stained diet or habits.
    Appear yellow due to fairer gums, lips, complexion or lighter eye colour.
    Dental diseases which stain or eat away your enamel.
    Improper oral hygiene habits.

Do let us know what you think. We would love to hear from you!