home Calculators My teeth have darkened at the roots, what should I do? Causes of tooth pigmentation. Black plaque on teeth: causes

My teeth have darkened at the roots, what should I do? Causes of tooth pigmentation. Black plaque on teeth: causes

Dentists advise taking darkening of teeth (discoloration) seriously. This phenomenon not only worsens the overall aesthetics of the smile, but in many cases indicates the development of serious pathologies inside the dental cavity.

Unhealthy teeth color is enough reason to consult a doctor to find the best way to eliminate the defect.

Clinical picture

Enamel is the surface layer of the crown part of the tooth. It is mineralized (96% of its composition is minerals) and the hardest bone human body. It has different thickness on different areas organ. The thickest layer (2.5 mm) is at the top.

Normally, the color varies from yellowish-white to gray, and is usually due to genetic factors. Since enamel is a translucent fabric, it appearance The shade of the underlying dentin also has an effect.

Throughout a person’s life, an increase in porosity, cracking and demineralization of enamel, and the appearance of erosion are observed, which is facilitated by many factors. Under their influence, the tooth surface darkens.

Changes may look different:

covered with a dark coating only on the outside;
darkens completely (inside and outside);
stripes or spots of different shades appear (brown, yellowish, light red, black);
acquires a greenish, blue or purple tint.

The appearance of the listed changes on one or simultaneously on a group of elements requires immediate dental care.

Causes

One of important factors psychophysical comfort are healthy and white teeth. Discoloration can occur for a number of reasons.

Household

They have the greatest influence on the shade of the enamel. A negative moment will arise if in a person’s life there are:

Smoking. Darkening occurs under the influence of nicotine tar. Also dangerous is the increase in temperature inside the mouth that occurs when inhaling hot smoke. Switching to e-Sigs, the likelihood of discoloration decreases, but does not disappear completely.
Addiction to coffee, red wine and strong tea. The coloring pigments of drinks, when consumed for a long time, are able to quickly penetrate through the enamel and reach dentin, thereby leading to stable pigmentation.
Food products containing coloring agents. The product group includes chocolate, ketchup, sauces, berries (cherries, blackberries, blueberries), carbonated drinks, juices, some vegetables, and seasonings. The impact manifests itself with less force, but prolonged and frequent contact of teeth with them must be avoided.
Sweets. Excessive consumption causes rapid formation and accumulation of plaque on the tooth surface.
Drugs. Under the influence psychotropic substances human body is destroyed, irreversible processes begin to develop in it, affecting the teeth.
Alcohol. Changes in the mouth acid-base balance towards acidity, which promotes rapid reproduction pathogenic microflora and the formation of persistent plaque.

Dental treatment

Cases cannot be ruled out when a doctor’s actions cause discoloration. This condition indicates that the work was carried out incorrectly, namely:

insufficiently cleaned carious cavities or root canals;
lack of testing for the presence of pathogenic microorganisms;
incorrect filling material was selected;
non-compliance by the dentist with the technology of sealing the dental cavity;
lack of sterility during manipulations;
injury to teeth and soft tissues with instruments.

If a tooth darkens after treatment, there is no need to postpone a second visit to the doctor.

It is important to understand that the absence of discomfort and pain under such circumstances is not a reason for delay, since the negative consequences of poor-quality service delivery will not be long in coming.

Injuries

There are often situations when discoloration appears due to tooth injury ( domestic injury, after a fight, accident). The degree of injury can be determined by the darkening of the gums around the problem tooth.

This phenomenon requires examination by a specialist, and even when there is no pain symptom. Neglecting the consequences of damage can lead to infection and tooth loss.

General diseases

The causes of pigmentation on the tooth can be some pathologies (chronic, systemic), namely:

problems with the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract;
disturbances in the functioning of the spleen or liver;
viral diseases, including HIV and AIDS;
congenital diseases such as Fournier and Hutchinson's.

Lightening enamel without treating the underlying disease will be ineffective.

Effects of drugs

Uncontrolled use of medications, especially antibiotics, tetracycline drugs, antihypertensives, antipsychotics and some antihistamines, can change the shade of teeth.

It is prohibited to take medications that can affect the condition of the surface of the elements of the jaw row without a doctor’s prescription. Correcting the results of abuse is a long and expensive process.

Dental pathologies

Lack of proper oral care and rare visits to the dentist lead to the natural development of dental diseases.

The group of pathologies that provoke pigmentation includes:

Contact with heavy metals

Regular contact with heavy metals (with their compounds, salts) has a negative effect on the condition of the protective layer of teeth. When inhaling vapors, on the mucous membrane oral cavity plaque settles, which will then lead to pathological changes in the shell itself and tissues.

People who work at metallurgical plants or live in the surrounding area are exposed to this danger.

Insufficient oral hygiene

Incorrect technique for cleaning the oral cavity, poor cleaning, or ignoring this procedure also leads to discoloration.

Poor nutrition

A lack of iron and calcium in the diet negatively affects the entire body and leads to darkening of the enamel.

The color also changes if a person eats mainly soft food. This preference contributes to the rapid accumulation of plaque.

It is also important to remove or reduce sweets to a minimum. Excess sugar creates favorable conditions for the accumulation of pathogenic bacteria, negative consequences which are plaque and carious lesions.

Heredity and age

Genes may also be responsible for the shade of teeth. In medicine, there is a concept - determination, which means that human genes contain information about certain appearance features, including the color of enamel.

Dark color is a dominant trait, which means that if one of the parents dark teeth, then the child will most likely show this sign.

Changes also occur with age. In older people, the enamel darkens due to ongoing changes in the body and structure of the teeth.

Analysis of the named causes of discoloration leads to the conclusion that teeth require special care, care and attention.

In the video, the doctor talks about the main causes of darkening of teeth.

Possible complications

It is important to understand that although darkening is not associated with pain, this condition is a sign of the development of some pathological condition in the body or oral cavity.

Prolonged lack of treatment for dental pigmentation can cause the following complications:

Premature tooth loss, especially if the discoloration is caused by caries.
Diseases of periodontal tissues. If hygiene is unsatisfactory, darkening of the tooth will subsequently lead to periodontal disease.
Putrid smell. The phenomenon accompanies almost all cases of dental pigmentation.
Inflammation. Often pathological process passes to the root area and periosteum. In the absence of timely treatment, it is dangerous to develop periostitis, osteomyelitis, and periodontitis.

To prevent such pathologies, pigmentation must be stopped at initial stage. To do this, it is better to consult a dentist and undergo appropriate treatment.

Treatment methods

There are several in dentistry effective techniques eliminate such a defect. The selection of each of them is made by the doctor in accordance with the reason for the appearance, the condition of the dentition, the wishes and financial capabilities of the patient.

Remineralization and fluoridation

When there is a deficiency of certain minerals in the body, the microflora of the oral cavity is disrupted, as a result of which the teeth darken.

To return the natural color, remineralization and fluoridation procedures are carried out. The essence of the methods is to saturate the enamel with mineral compounds missing from it.

Calcium, phosphorus, fluorine, strontium, iron, and zinc must be included in therapeutic complexes.

Remineralization There are two ways to restore teeth:

Application of applications with a “deficient” mineral to a previously cleaned surface.
The introduction of mineral ions into the enamel using physiotherapeutic equipment for phonophoresis or electrophoresis.

If there is a deficiency of fluoride and its compounds, the patient is prescribed sessions fluoridation, in which dental tissues are intensively saturated with fluoride ions. Based on the condition of the enamel, the following is carried out:

Surface coating with fluoride varnish. Recommended for slight darkening of one or a group of elements.
Express method, when disposable mouth guards filled with fluoride gel are applied.

After a course of treatment using one of the described methods, in addition to lightening, the following changes are observed:

is being restored protective function enamels;
the level of sensitivity decreases;
increased resistance to the influence of acidic aggressive environments;
the required volume of fluoroapatite substances is achieved, which prevent pathogenic microbes from entering and leaching of mineral compounds.

Whitening

Aesthetic dentistry has several whitening methods:

Chemical. A long but effective (whitening up to 7-8 tones in 80% of cases) lightening procedure. The essence of the method is to coat the teeth with a gel with a special active component– carbamide or hydrogen peroxide.
Then a mouthguard is put on and left for a certain time. The duration of the session depends on the condition of the teeth and the concentration of the gel. Thus, the minimum time for keeping the mouth guard is 35-40 minutes, the maximum is 2 hours.

As an alternative to mouth guards, whitening plates, pencils or strips can be used. But in any case, the procedure is not recommended to be performed more than 2 times a year.
Mechanical. The technique is effective in the presence of surface deposits in smokers, as well as in the case of changes in the tone of the enamel due to coloring drinks and foods. Lighting in this case is carried out using special drugs, powders and pastes.
Photobleaching. In addition to peroxide, the composition includes restorative and softening components: glycerin, calcium phosphate, natural oils.
The effect of the compositions is enhanced by a halogen lamp. Removal of pigmentation takes place in 3 stages, each lasting about 20 minutes. The effect lasts for about a year.
Laser. Reminiscent of the previous technique, but instead of a lamp acting simultaneously on all teeth, it is used laser ray, which processes each element separately.
The laser catalyzes the applied gel and significantly increases the efficiency and quality of the procedure. The session lasts about 2 hours, lightening occurs up to 12 tones, the effect lasts for 6-7 years.

In-canal whitening

All the procedures listed above show good results only on “living” (vital) elements.

Intracanal lightening is the most complex technique in terms of technique, which allows you to lighten a pulpless tooth.

The change in shade occurs due to the introduction of a bleaching substance into the dental root canals, which exerts its effect from the inside. The result is persistent and uniform lightening.

The technique is considered a gentle alternative to prosthetics and allows you to preserve the natural shape of the problem element without removing a certain thickness of the enamel layer, grinding and placing the prosthetic product.

Important! Endobleaching should not be performed more than once a year. Repeated use leads to fragility of the enamel and increases the likelihood of complete tooth destruction.

The results of the procedure last up to 1 year. The number of lightening sessions depends on the condition of the tissues and the preparations used.

The video presents the technique of intra-canal tooth whitening.

Direct restoration

The technique does possible restoration color of the tooth to its natural tone using polymers. Typically used for units included in the smile zone.

All manipulations take place in one visit to the doctor in the following sequence:

a painkiller is administered (if necessary);
the desired area is thoroughly cleaned, treated with an antiseptic, and isolated from saliva;
filling material is applied layer by layer;
the restored elements are ground and polished.

In some cases, this technology is the only one that can be used to restore teeth to their beauty while preserving the maximum amount of dental tissue.

Veneers

You can restore the whiteness of your teeth with veneers - thin overlay plates made of zirconium, ceramics, porcelain, composite.

They are made exactly according to the shape and size of the element being restored, and are secured using special staff on visible side darkened unit.

The service life of veneers is determined by the material used to make them. Thus, composite products last no more than 5 years, and ceramic ones - up to 15-20 years.

Prosthetics

If none of the listed lightening methods can be applied, prosthetics are performed, i.e. An artificial crown is placed.

In this case, the problem unit is first ground, polished, and then an impression is taken from it to make a prosthetic structure.

A correctly made crown reliably protects against external influence tooth, holds up well heavy loads and guarantees a solution to the aesthetic problem.

But prosthetics, due to the use of expensive materials and large volumes of manipulation, is an expensive technique.

In addition, to correct the defect, the patient will have to visit the dentist multiple times.

Prevention Majority dental problems

can be delayed or prevented on your own. In order to avoid contacting the dentist for as long as possible about darkening of teeth and to preserve their natural whiteness, you need to follow a few simple rules:
Come for a preventive examination at least 2 times a year.
Brush your teeth regularly and properly.
Supplement oral care with the use of rinses, floss, and irrigator.
Organize proper diet nutrition.
Control general state body and timely treat developed systemic diseases.
Get rid of bad habits.
Be careful when choosing a toothbrush and toothpaste.

For a long time in Japan, black teeth were fashionable. Today, black plaque on teeth is considered a sign of poor health. This is a consequence of many factors that will be discussed in the article.

It is necessary to take a close look at your lifestyle in order to identify and, if possible, eliminate the causes of this pathology. But getting rid of its consequences is a reason to consult a specialist - a dentist - as soon as possible. So:

Factor - food and alcohol

It has been noticed that if you constantly drink strong tea and coffee drinks, the pigments contained in them color the tooth enamel, which gets darker and darker. It is important to remember that for a sweet tooth who overuses desserts, oxidative processes occur in the mouth caused by the decomposition of sucrose.

An imbalance also occurs when eating foods with big amount preservatives. You cannot eat such products uncontrollably! After all, such an environment is excellent for the growth of bacteria, which cause darkening and subsequent destruction of tooth enamel.

Drinks containing alcohol have the same effect on the microflora of the oral cavity. Correct selection and food combinations, reducing the share of sweets, daily care taking care of your teeth will help reduce the risk of darkening of the enamel.

Factor - smoking

The combination of the resins contained in cigarette smoke with plaque on the teeth creates a rather aggressive environment.

This combination leads to destruction of the enamel surface. Many people have noticed that smokers' teeth take on a yellowish and eventually brownish tint.

Such people require especially careful dental care.

Factor - non-compliance with personal hygiene rules

If you neglect the simple requirements for cleanliness of the oral cavity, then gradually food debris will form plaque, which will lead to blackening of the enamel.

Factor - diseases

The most common cause among diseases is caries. Black dots appear first. Then the enamel darkens noticeably. Shades can be very different - from light brown to completely black.

Another reason is endemic fluorosis, which forms in childhood and is associated with an excess of fluoride in consumed water. As a result, this leads to the appearance dark spots, destruction of dentin and enamel.

It is known that drug treatment has side effects. So medications containing iron and tetracycline for long-term use can lead to darkening of tooth enamel.

Factor - injuries

There are cases when darkening of teeth occurs as a result of severe trauma. In this case, the activity of blood vessels and nerves is disrupted, which leads to tissue necrosis. The tooth becomes dead and turns black.

All these problems can and should be dealt with. Daily oral hygiene, promoting the health of the whole body, proper nutrition and regular visits to the dentist will help keep your teeth healthy and beautiful. The main thing to remember is that prevention is better than cure.

Discoloration of the surface of teeth in adults and children is not uncommon. This is a long process that can take place over several years. If you don't professional cleaning oral cavity, do not take preventive measures and neglect treatment, dark spots will appear much faster.

Darkening of the enamel on the outside

The appearance of dark spots on the surface of the teeth is a signal of insufficient cleanliness of the oral cavity (we recommend reading:). Plaque, which is deposited on the surface of the enamel, tends to darken. Coloring drinks such as tea or coffee, bad habits cause staining of deposits, and poor nutrition, hormonal imbalances and illnesses internal organs can cause accelerated accumulation of plaque, which together leads to a change in the color of the enamel.

Both adults and children know that they need to brush their teeth twice a day, but both neglect it. simple rule, which should not be allowed, as this leads to the rapid formation of plaque on the surface of the enamel, especially at the base of the teeth. It may take less than 16 hours for the mineralization process to begin, when the plaque hardens and cannot be brushed off.

Initially, the deposits are light, soft and easily removed with a toothbrush. Then their layer thickens, acquires a gray tint, and a hard mineralized coating forms. Bacteria continue to grow under the deposits, damaging hard tissues and causing caries, which causes irreparable harm health not only of the crown, but also of the root.

Smoker's teeth

Yellow, brown or black teeth are a characteristic sign of a smoker. Tobacco is the cause of teeth staining. It makes no difference whether a person smokes cigars, cigarettes, cigarettes, it’s all about the substances that are contained in inhaled and exhaled smoke: tar, soot and tar. When these components come into contact with enamel, they create a rather aggressive sticky film; plaque and bacteria quickly accumulate on its surface. If hygiene is neglected, the enamel will soon lose its strength and natural color.

Products with dyes

The color of the crown changes from frequent use in food of coloring products. A harmless daily cup of natural coffee or a mug of strong tea can cause a change in the color of the enamel. The dark plaque that remains on your favorite cup also quickly settles on your teeth. With insufficient oral hygiene, the situation worsens, and deposits accumulate layer by layer, hiding the natural White color enamels.

TO coloring products also include:

The teeth of people who work in metalworking or metallurgical plants and live in industrially polluted areas are also susceptible to darkening. Metal particles floating in the air, like cigarette tar, stick to the surface of the enamel, turning it black.

If the tooth is blackened from the inside

This article talks about typical ways to solve your issues, but each case is unique! If you want to find out from me how to solve your particular problem, ask your question. It's fast and free!

Teeth don't always turn black external factors, the reason why they darkened may lie deep inside.

The most common problems that cause darkening are:

Development of caries

Carious lesions can form not only on the tooth surface, but also with inside, under the seal. In this case, complete staining of the tissues occurs from the inside, and the outside of the tooth will look black with a slight blue tint.

Caries formed under a filling may for a long time remain unnoticed. If nerve endings in the tooth are healthy, then destructive process will be accompanied painful sensations what will make the patient visit dental office. If the nerve has been removed, the unit can collapse under the filling completely painlessly.

Secondary caries can develop even after qualified treatment. There is such a problem as shrinkage of the filling. After polymerization, the material decreases in size, forming microscopic cracks. Particles of food remain in them, and the active reproduction of harmful microflora begins, this leads to the gradual destruction of the unit. The patient notes that the tooth has turned black.

Dying of an injured tooth

Tooth bruise is one of the common causes of discoloration of its tissues. It does not affect the bone or jaw structure. When struck, periodontal tissue can be severely damaged, causing ruptures and hemorrhages. A severe bruise is accompanied by staining of the walls of the tooth from the outside and reverse side, in the injured part, blood vessels and nerve endings are torn, turning the inside of the tooth pink or black.

Effect of drugs on tooth tissue

Some medications can change the natural color of the tooth crown to gray or brown inside. External staining of the enamel occurs due to ingestion and chewing of preparations containing iron. Such drugs are often prescribed for anemia.

It happens that the milk or permanent tooth still in the process of embryo formation. Antibiotics of the tetracycline group are often prescribed by doctors. Why? Because they have wide range actions and not a large number of side effects. One of side effects The drug causes darkening of the enamel.

If the enamel has turned black for this reason, then it is impossible to whiten the tooth. This is usually associated with taking antibacterial drug mother during pregnancy or during breastfeeding child. In this case, the teeth may turn completely gray or have black stripes, spots and inclusions.

Colored bone tissue often does not affect the health of the tooth, but requires additional strengthening with fluoride varnish to avoid unnecessary loss of microelements. It is impossible to whiten such discolorations; to give a whiter smile, dentists recommend other treatment methods, such as installing veneers.

Separately, the destructive effects of narcotic substances should be highlighted. They can cause teeth to turn black and then fall out completely.

Non-dental diseases

When a front or molar tooth changes color inside or even turns black, it may indicate a health problem.

Diseases of human internal organs disrupt metabolic processes in the body, which often leads to blackening of teeth. These include:

kidney disease;
gastritis and other diseases of the digestive system;
viral infections;
liver damage;
anemia of various origins;
disruptions in the functioning of the endocrine system;
metabolic disease;
spleen disease;
malignant tumors;
HIV, AIDS, etc.

If darkening of a child’s teeth occurs suddenly, this may indicate the presence of dysbacteriosis. This condition in children under three years of age goes away on its own or when baby teeth fall out.

Genetic predisposition

Genetics is responsible for the natural whiteness of a person’s smile. People of different races differ not only in skin color, but also in the shade of tooth enamel. Some get a snow-white smile from their parents, while others are less fortunate and, along with their chromosome set, end up with unsightly yellow teeth.

In such cases, the indication for tooth surface whitening is only very dark shades of enamel, which interfere with normal life person and his position in society. In other cases, treatment is contraindicated, as it can lead to tissue depletion. Perhaps it is not for nothing that there is an opinion that yellow teeth are more durable than snow-white ones.

Unbalanced diet and deficiency of certain substances

People who prefer quick snacks to full meals are more susceptible to blackening of their teeth. Flaw useful microelements and excess carbohydrates in sandwiches and sweets affect the health of teeth, and preservatives and dyes contribute to the formation of plaque, which turns black over time.

Fluorosis – dental disease, leading to the appearance of spots on the surface of the units. The disease occurs as a result of large amounts of fluoride entering the human body from the environment. This can happen due to poor quality drinking water or polluted air. The disease can also occur when excessive enthusiasm medicated toothpastes with fluoride, which is certainly good for teeth, but in reasonable quantities.

The deposition of bacterial plaque and a change in its color on the outside is an indication for dental cleaning and teeth whitening. Among the treatment methods, the most popular are ultrasound treatment, professional cleaning pastes, an abrasive solution using an irrigator or a laser.

If your wisdom tooth has darkened, you should not whiten it. Such cosmetic problem does not pose a threat to a radiant smile, but if it hurts, you should think about removing it.

Blackening of a tooth due to a filling

Darkening of the enamel and discoloration of the tooth after filling can occur for several reasons. The most common ones are:

darkening of the filling due to the ingestion of dyes with food, especially for the front incisors;
staining of a filled tooth with tobacco smoke;
the tooth darkened under the filling after poor-quality treatment inside;
installation of metal amalgams having dark color.

Almost any process of darkening of enamel can be stopped, prevented or cured. Lead healthy image life, eat more healthy products, keep your mouth clean and be sure to visit the dentist - and you are guaranteed a dazzling smile.

White, healthy teeth is more than the Hollywood standard of beauty. This is an indicator of the health of a person’s oral cavity and his body as a whole. This is why teeth whitening services are gaining more and more popularity. The fact that the color of teeth is affected by the foods we eat (coffee and tea darken, apples and carrots whiten) seems obvious.

However, it often happens that among the white row of teeth on the gum one suddenly begins to darken sharply. This is not only unaesthetic, but is also considered a sign of unhealthy tooth health and, of course, a reason for immediate appeal to the dentist.

If baby tooth If your child turns black, this is not a cause for concern. Most often, the tooth is already loose, which means that its natural necrosis has already occurred, and it is ready to fall out, giving way to a new molar. If the tooth does not fall out on its own and causes pain and inconvenience to the child, you should take the child to the dentist so that he can help with removal.

Of course, the front and back teeth sometimes darken due to smoking, or when coloring pigments penetrate the enamel. For example, there is no point in worrying if your tooth turns dark after eating blueberries. But if the color of a tooth is radically different from the rest, this is most often a signal of problems inside the tooth. A tooth may darken after an impact, or after removal of a nerve.
It is worth remembering that not only the enamel, but also dentin, the next layer underneath, is responsible for the color of a tooth. If the color of dentin has changed, then the blackness or blueness of the tooth will still show through the enamel. The teeth themselves turn black for the following reasons:

advanced caries (including secondary);
staining the pulp with materials used for filling;
transillumination of pins under the filling;
pulp necrosis;
wrong treatment.

It is important to know whether the darkening of the tooth was caused by any intervention or whether it happened on its own. For example, if this was preceded by injury, nerve removal or filling, this could be the reason. If a tooth without a nerve darkens after the canals have been filled, this may indicate that the nerve removal was not carried out correctly. If the tooth still hurts, contact your dentist immediately, and under no circumstances go to the clinic where you had the wrong endodontic intervention.

When a tooth no longer has a nerve, it is considered dead. Its pulp is deprived of nutrition, and therefore self-healing does not occur. Such teeth most often crumble and become brittle. A tooth may darken after improper root canal cleaning if the doctor missed any remaining organic matter there. Organic matter begins to decompose, dentin begins to darken and, accordingly, stain dead tooth. Re-cleaning required.
More serious reason– pulp necrosis. Specialist help is needed immediately. Pulp necrosis (or death) is most often caused by dental infections (treated with antibiotics), which tend to spread to the gums and adjacent, healthy teeth.

Treatment of tooth darkening at home and with folk remedies

In no case. There has never been a single attempt to cure bad teeth on your own." grandma's methods"did not lead to success. Rather, in this way you can only bring the problem to last resort, when an innocently darkened tooth can cause infection of the whole body and even hospitalization.

Rinsing with herbs, applying propolis to the affected tooth, various homemade ointments - all this can be considered as part of prevention, but not as the main method of treatment.
It is strictly forbidden to warm up a diseased tooth with a compress, as sympathetic neighbors advise. If the cause of darkening is an infection, then in the warmth it will bloom wildly.

One way or another, if the tooth is darkened and hurts, you cannot do without a visit to the dentist.

The dental specialist, in turn, must find out the cause of the darkening based on the anamnesis and clinical picture patient, After which he will establish the correct treatment tactics.

If the cause of darkening is just caries, then treatment will be easiest. The dentist will remove the affected tissue, select the correct shade of restoration material and treat the tooth. In the best case scenario, the tooth will remain alive and will no longer cause aesthetic or physical problems.

If the tooth is considered dead (for example, the nerve died on its own or had to be removed), treatment will be required individual approach. It is no longer as strong as natural teeth, which means that other treatment methods must be selected.

And although modern dentistry already knows a lot of techniques with which you can return your smile to its original appearance, The best way avoid dental problems - their prevention, that is, maintaining oral hygiene, proper diet and avoidance of traumatic situations.

If a tooth darkens, the following treatment options are possible:

intracanal bleaching;
restoration;
veneers;
crown.

A person with a direct and open, bright, snow-white smile is attractive and looks successful. Many people want to become its owner, but even the naturally light enamel of an adult becomes dark over time and even becomes covered with black spots. There are several reasons for this. Once you know why your teeth darken, you can find the best option to prevent this phenomenon or the most effective way to lighten the enamel.

Hygiene and lack thereof

People know that teeth need to be brushed modern society even small children. However, the most widespread reason that adults' teeth turn black is insufficient hygiene. Failure to follow the seemingly basic rules of brushing teeth leads to the accumulation of plaque on the enamel, which consists of harmful and beneficial bacteria living in food debris.

If plaque is not carefully removed, it forms an increasingly dense layer that is soft and dirty gray at first, but then thickens, hardens and darkens into tartar deposits.

Important! The plaque layer makes the surface of the tooth visually much darker, covering the original color of the enamel. Teeth look unpleasantly dirty and dull. Bacteria accumulate under plaque and tartar deposits, which contribute to the occurrence of caries, damaging not only the enamel, but also dental tissue, and even roots.

Caries and darkening of teeth

Frequent and important reason The reason why adults' teeth turn black is caries. In turn, it is a consequence of poor hygiene or excessive abuse of foods containing sugar. After the onset of the carious process, which first affects the enamel layer, punching a “gap” in it, softening the coating and tooth tissue, demineralization of the teeth occurs.

The optical density of dental tissue changes. At the initial stage, this is almost unnoticeable - the enamel is covered with light, softened spots. But then the spots darken and become black, spreading and affecting larger and larger areas.

By the way. Caries can develop not only on the surface of the tooth, but also inside, under the filling. In this case, the tissue of the tooth turns black from the inside, and the outside becomes bluish-black,

How to avoid carious darkening of teeth? Cure carious lesions initial stage until the spots darken and the tooth begins to react to thermal irritants or hurt due to mechanical stress.

Smokers have black teeth

One of the reasons why they turn black, or rather, first turn yellow, and then acquire dark brown color, teeth in adults, can be called smoking. And it doesn’t matter whether a person smokes cigarettes, cigars, or even chews tobacco. IN tobacco products There are resins that contain a coloring pigment. Resinous substances are also part of tartar, because smoking people standard ones are often not enough hygiene procedures, and you need to use special toothpastes. But, in addition, resins form dense and heavy deposits on the enamel, which can only be completely removed under clinical conditions.

Food browning

It is probably difficult to find a person who prefers only clean water, never drinks coffee, tea, juice or wine. There are many products containing powerful coloring pigments. It is almost impossible to avoid them.

These include:

coffee;
some herbal teas;
Black tea;
juices of fruits and berries of blue (purple) color;
red wine;
drinks and products containing synthetic dyes.

Ideally, to prevent tooth enamel from darkening under the influence of the coloring pigment, you need to stop eating foods that contain it. But many of them, especially berries and fruits, and coffee and tea, contain useful material, necessary for the health of the body, including teeth.

By the way. Not only red wine, but also any alcoholic drinks change the microflora in the mouth. After consuming them, acidity increases. Acidic environment promotes rapid reproduction pathogenic bacteria. They form plaque, which causes tooth enamel to turn black.

Incorrect treatment

Dental treatment not carried out according to the rules can also cause a tooth to change color to dark. The shade changes under the influence of substances that are found in some filling materials. If you fill the root canals with these materials, the entire body of the tooth will become dark and dull, and no amount of bleaching will help brighten it.

Today, fewer and fewer doctors use such fillings, but those who are accustomed to working with this material can give patients pigmented fillings, since the material for them continues to be produced today.

By the way. Metal fillings, including silver amalgam, are still widely used by dentists in America, Israel and some other countries.

Trauma and necrosis of dental tissues

Sometimes the cause of a tooth turning black is injury. Mechanical damage tooth damage leads to damage to nerves and blood vessels. Blood stained with hemoglobin enters the tooth cavity. The shade of the enamel changes immediately. Then it gets darker even more as damaged tissue undergo necrosis and decay. A tooth that has become blackened from the inside as a result of injury, according to the dentist, is often removed surgically, replacing it with a denture or crown if only the dental tissue is damaged and the roots need to be restored.

Black teeth from medications

Some medications can darken the inside of dental tissue. In particular, tetracycline contributes to the darkening of teeth. True, it is not dangerous for adult teeth, since it only affects children’s teeth at the stage of their formation. However, although this antibiotic will not stain adult teeth black, it should not be taken by pregnant women. A child whose mother took tetracycline during pregnancy may develop dark permanent teeth when she grows up.

In adults, the enamel may also darken when long-term use iron preparations.

Diseases that change the color of enamel

There are diseases that cause the enamel to turn dark quite quickly. One of the most common is fluorosis. It affects residents of regions whose drinking water contains too much fluoride. Fluorosis can also be acquired by constantly drinking fluoridated bottled water and using cleaning paste with increased content of this substance.

In case of fluorosis, bleaching will not have the desired effect. To restore the whiteness of the enamel, you will have to undergo a series of therapeutic procedures or seek the help of an orthopedist to install masking overlays.

Also some hereditary and chronic diseases may cause darkening of teeth in adulthood.

Teeth darken from the inside when:

In the presence of these pathologies, the body's metabolism is slowed down, and this is reflected in the teeth, causing darkening of the enamel.

Genetics

Teeth color is a genetic trait. People of different races and nationalities living in different places planet, it will be different. But it will also be different even between two representatives of the same race, if the parents of one, by “inheritance” from their ancestors, received white teeth, and the other – dark ones. Nothing can be done about this either, except installing veneers.

Teeth color is a hereditary trait

By the way. Aesthetic prosthetics are indicated if the color of the teeth is really too dark, so much so that it prevents a person from living normally in society.

For plate dentures, which are installed frontally on the tooth surface, previously filed, porcelain and ceramics are used - materials that can be given any desired degree of whiteness.

Age and enamel color

With age, pigmentation of not only the skin, but also tooth enamel increases. It darkens, even if throughout your life you have carefully looked after it and ensured that it remains white.

For people who at an advanced age want to maintain the whiteness of their teeth, modern dentistry can only offer aesthetic prosthetics. As in the case of genetic darkening, the process is not reversible, and there is no point in subjecting teeth to clinical whitening.

People who work at metallurgical enterprises and factories that are part of the heavy industry group, even with full compliance with all plumbing standards, have constant indirect contact with heavy metals. Their impurities are present in the air, they settle in the form of condensation on all surfaces. This gradually stains the enamel a dark color.

Store-bought products contain preservatives. They, along with other synthetic substances contained in them, have Negative influence on metabolic processes occurring in the liver. Because of this, the composition of saliva and the acid-base balance changes. The altered quality of saliva makes it impossible to control the washing away of food debris and promotes the growth of bacteria. An acidic environment creates favorable conditions for the formation of black plaque.

But this process is gradual and controllable, unlike excessive consumption of sugar-containing foods. The love of sweets is not the prerogative of childhood. Many adults consume huge amounts of sugar-containing foods every day. Glucose is broken down in the mouth and an oxidative reaction occurs that damages the enamel. Cracks and pores appear in it, which are inhabited by pathogenic organisms.

By the way. To break down carbohydrates, the body must contain sufficient calcium. If this element is missing, it is taken from dental tissue. That is why sweets not only contribute to external darkening of teeth, but also destroy them from the inside.

How to make teeth white

Nobody likes black teeth. Everyone wants to have white, or at least light, tooth enamel. There are many ways to remove black teeth. The solution to the problem depends on the cause of pigmentation.

Table. Causes of blackening of teeth and ways to eliminate them

Cause	Solution
	Regular brushing of teeth twice for at least three minutes with a properly selected brush and toothpaste. The use of rinses that restore alkaline level oral cavity.
	To prevent teeth from turning black due to caries, it must be treated in a timely manner, carefully filling the affected areas.
	There is no need to give up sources of vitamins. Simply, if you know that your teeth are black because you drink a lot of coffee or like grape juice, you need to take care of regularly cleaning the enamel and brightening it so that the dark pigment does not accumulate on the surface of the tooth and the upper layers of the enamel coating. The same applies to smokers - it is necessary to use enhanced hygiene techniques and special pastes.
	When visiting a dentist to install a filling, ask what material he plans to use and whether this will affect the final color of the tooth.
	If dental injury could not be avoided, you should immediately consult a dentist and take an X-ray of the tooth, without waiting for necrotic processes to develop.
	If you suspect increased fluoride consumption, you can do a drinking water test. The use of fluoride-containing pastes and preparations should be avoided.
	Here therapeutic methods will not help, but if there is excessive pathology, you can turn to prosthetics and solve the problem orthopedically.
	People working in hazardous industries are recommended to use bleach chewing gum, periodically use semi-abrasive toothpastes and eat vegetables and fruits to mechanically and chemically cleanse tooth enamel from heavy metal deposits.
	Limiting your sugar intake will not only have a beneficial effect on your figure and general health, but will reduce the likelihood of oxidative processes occurring, and maintain normal calcium levels, maintaining the light color of tooth enamel.

The darkening process of enamel can be stopped or at least slowed down in most cases. So as not to use it later radical methods and not to harm the health of your teeth for the sake of their snow-white beauty and radiance, start proper care take care of your teeth as early as possible, and visit your dentist periodically for clinical cleaning to remove plaque and tartar.