It’s not uncommon to find people having dark brown or black spots on their teeth. Just like black spots on cheeks and forehead can be a nuisance so are the stains on teeth. If you have black stains appearing on your teeth, you may want to know what’s causing them and the possible ways to get rid of them. The black stains can form anywhere on the teeth, you may see them on the front teeth, on the rear teeth, or even in between teeth. Such tooth discolorations are embarrassing and could present health problems if left unchecked. Where the teeth pigmentation has formed recently, there may be at home remedies that you can use to get rid of them.
Causes of Black Stains on Teeth
Black stains on teeth are caused by eroding tooth’s enamel and they can present as tiny pen marks to even larger patches that cover a large area of the tooth surface. The common causes of black stains on teeth are:
Sugary food and drinks: People who take sugary beverages such as soda, they may have black spots. The spots make the teeth to be susceptible to decay. You may have unsightly yellowish to dark tint on the teeth, something that makes you to be embarrassed with your smile. The phosphoric acid as well as chromogens found in sodas are the culprit in causing dark spots.
Phosphoric acid serves as a flavoring agent in soda and although it gives the beverage the flavor you need, on the other hand, its acidic nature can weaken the enamel of the tooth. Enamel is the surface or layer that protects the inner part of the tooth. When it’s eroded, it can bring about tooth decay and more susceptibility to staining from beverages and foods.
Chromogens add the cola color and these substances can stain the teeth. Chromogens may easily stain the tooth giving it a yellow, dingy appearance, especially when phosphoric acid has eaten away the enamel.
Smoking: If you smoke tobacco, the nicotine and tar contained in it is responsible for staining teeth. Whether you inhale or place tobacco in the mouth, you find that tar and nicotine settle into your oral cavity. The substance leach into the enamel pores causing black spots to appear.
You may take tobacco in different ways for instance, you may chew it, use it as cigarettes or pipes or cigars. Regardless of the way you are using tobacco, it can damage your teeth and gums. Besides staining the teeth, tobacco can also result in gum disease, bad breath, and tooth loss. At times, it can lead to mouth cancer.
Tea or coffee: If you find that a liquid stains your fabric, it is most likely it will stain the teeth too. Tea offers many health benefits, but that does not come without its share of staining the teeth. In fact, evidence suggests that tea could stain teeth more compared to the traditional cup of coffee.
You may think that the dark coffee roast appear to be more blackish suggesting that they could stain the teeth more than tea, however, through processes such as oxidation and the naturally occurring tannins in tea, they may bring about the same staining effects as coffee.
Getting rid of Black Stains on Tooth
If staining on tooth is robbing you your beautiful smile, you don’t have to panic. There are lots of ways you can get rid of the black stain appearing on your tooth. You may use at home teeth whitening kits and professional teeth whiteners. In office procedures may also help whiten the teeth by removing the stains. The teeth whitening or stain removal procedures work for extrinsic stains and not intrinsic stains. With extrinsic stains, they are found occurring superficially on the enamel, but intrinsic stains penetrate deeper into the structure of your teeth making them difficult to erase. Treatment procedures include:
Dental prophylaxis: This procedure has a dual action in that it helps clean the stains from the tooth’s surface while also protecting the gums and teeth from any further damage and disease. During the procedure, scaling is done to remove hardened plaque. The scaling is done if there is less or minimal inflammation. Scaling also removes debris trapped in between your teeth. After scaling, polishing is done using a prophy paste applied to polish off those superficial stains.
Bleaching: With power bleaching, it uses hydrogen peroxide mixed with some bleaching gel to help get rid of the black stains while also brightening your teeth. Because bleaches are known to cause irritation and sensitivity, a dental hygienist will use dental dam to separate the gums and mouth. During power bleaching, the cosmetic dentist will use light to whiten teeth. A whitening gel is put on the surface or enamel of the teeth and using led light or laser, a beam of light is passed over to activate the gel. This quickly removes the black spots.
Dental veneers and bonding: A dentist may use porcelain veneers to help cover the stains as well as fix gaps found within teeth. Veneers come in handy if you have darker, persistent extrinsic stains. Veneers are fitted based on models picked from your teeth and mouth, and they can look as natural as your existing teeth. Before veneers are put, the tooth enamel may need to be scraped off so that they fit properly.
Composite bonding works similar to porcelain veneers and it may last for up to 10 years. Composite bonding will hide stains with plastic resin that is bound to fillers and fixed to your enamel.
How You Can Prevent Black Spots on Teeth
Because superficial black spots occurring on the enamel can reoccur, you may want to prevent the teeth from staining in the first place. You need or eliminate drinks that stain your teeth. You can use straw because it prevents soda from getting in contact with teeth. Also, quit smoking if you do, because it is unhealthy for your body. Tobacco smoking has many negative implications in your body far more than just staining. It can result in addiction, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other chronic illnesses.
Brushing and flossing may also help prevent tar buildup but these processes don’t offer complete protection from teeth discolorations. Consider regular dental checkups with a dentist to find out if there are dental issues related to teeth staining.