Houston Cosmetic Dentist
Greenway Plaza area
3700 Buffalo Speedway
Houston, TX 77098
713-850-9699
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- 7. A Few Words of Wisdom about Your Third Molars
- 6. Having a Bone Graft for a Dental Implant
- What Are Hybrid Dentures?
- 4. Advantages of Choosing No Prep Veneers
- 3. Gum Disease and Its Effect on General Health
- 2. Make Sure Your Mouth Is Healthy before Teeth Whitening
- 1. Looking After Your Teeth Before and During Pregnancy
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Tracing the Causes of Tooth Staining Leads to the Right Treatment
Even with the best of care, our pearly whites can become tarnished. Luckily, we have many options when it comes to battling tooth staining. But before you consider any of these choices it is necessary to find out first what causes the discoloration and what type of staining is it. Basically, two types of tooth staining exist – extrinsic and intrinsic.
When teeth are affected from the outside, it is considered extrinsic tooth staining. The most popular culprits are certain food and beverages as well as smoking tobacco. Note that staining can be aggravated by insufficient oral care and mouth dryness. Interestingly, some dental care topical medications and prolonged use of specific mouthwashes can also lead to extrinsic tooth staining.
On the other hand, when staining is on the tooth structure itself, it is referred to as intrinsic. An example of this is a tooth with a root canal filling that has a different shade than the adjacent teeth. Colors can actually help when differentiating between extrinsic and intrinsic stains. Intrinsic stains can be pink or red while extrinsic ones are usually black, brown, or gray but can also be yellow, green, or orange.
With the help of a dependable dentist, such as your Houston TX dentist, these causes can be spotted and treatment plans can be discussed. Your dentist can also prescribe medications if your condition makes you prone to tooth staining, dry mouth for instance.
Effective oral hygiene and food choices can take care of minor extrinsic stains but professional cleaning, teeth polishing, and power bleaching may also be recommended. Restoration and filling procedures are normally suggested for intrinsic stains.