A smile says a lot about a person. You may have heard your mother tell you the first things to look for in a significant other are clean shoes and white teeth. So it would make sense that it’s in your best interest to keep that smile from fading. It all starts with understanding how and why teeth change color in the first place. Then understanding what steps must be taken to prevent that from happening to you. This information is brought to you by the Bergen County NJ General Dentistry For Kids company Pediatric Dental Associates.

What causes it

Much of the state of your teeth and their appearance has to do with the non-living exterior part known as the enamel. This can be stained by drinking too much soda and consuming an excess of sweets without proper brushing afterward. This is the kind of damage that one can recover from with whitening treatments. Of course, it’s best to just keep up with brushing, flossing, and rinsing. But if your child goes through a phase of less than perfect dental hygiene habits, it won’t be the end of the world.

However, that is only with regards to the enamel. Let us not forget about the interior, where there’s what’s known as the dentins. Dentin is living tissue within your tooth that ages just like the rest of your body. Neglecting to take proper care of your teeth’s interior will result in much more severe discoloration, and this is practically impossible to reverse once the damage is done. The best thing to do is to be consistent with dental hygiene to slow the aging process of your teeth.

How to prevent premature dental yellowing

The number one priority with dental hygiene is to protect the dentin, because once the dentin goes, you’re pretty much out of luck. One thing to look out for is if you have a grinding habit. The goal is to prolong the lifespan of your teeth. But each time you put them under extreme stress for hours on end while you sleep by clenching your teeth or grinding them, you’re effectively doing the opposite.

Additionally, poor diet, not eating enough, or taking certain medications can all speed up the aging of your dentin. You should speak to your pediatric dentist for info on what medications can have this effect.

One unfortunate cause of accelerated dental aging is if any lasting damage has been inflicted on the tooth. That’s why you’ll sometimes see someone with one tooth that seems to have far worse discoloration than the others. That’s typically the result of some kind of trauma that the tooth experienced earlier in the person’s life.

How a professional can help

Learn more about how Pediatric Dental Associates’ Bergen County NJ General Dentistry for Kids can help your child maintain the whitest smile in the neighborhood. For more information or to set up an appointment, give our office a call at 201-652-7020.