Why Our Teeth Discolour In Later Life
It isn’t just staining from food that creates dull looking teeth as we get older.
With a little bit of luck and a lot of good care taken, there is every chance that many of us will enter our later years with a healthy and fully functioning set of teeth. This prevents the need for prosthodontics such as dentures or dental implants, and, as good as implants are, there is little doubt that keeping the real thing is preferable!
Keeping our natural teeth does have one small drawback though, in that as we get older, our teeth lose that natural sparkle of our younger years. This is something that we hear quite frequently from our Wickford and Rayleigh patients who attend the Cygnet Dental Practice.
What causes teeth discolouration?
If you read most articles about teeth discolouration, they tend to focus on staining products such as tea and red wine, as well as yellow teeth from smoking. Whilst these certainly do play a significant role in staining our teeth, there is another factor which is beyond our control. However well we keep the enamel on our teeth clean, there is a layer beneath it called the dentin layer. This is naturally darker in colour and even in younger patients who have suffered enamel erosion, this darker colour can sometimes show through.
Whilst some wear and tear over the years may mean that enamel may be thinner in older patients, it is also true that the dentin layer becomes even darker over time and a combination of these two factors often leads to yellow, darker looking teeth as we get older.
Restoring the whiteness of older teeth
With people living longer and leading a more active life well into their later years, it is no surprise that many want to keep their teeth looking as nice as possible so that they can enjoy their social life without worrying about how discoloured their teeth look. At the Cygnet Dental Practice, we are pleased to offer our patients an effective teeth whitening treatment that you can perform in the convenience of your own home. These personalised kits can significantly whiten your teeth in just a week or two. They are also perfectly safe and are produced from impressions taken of your teeth to ensure additional comfort.
Once you have had your first course of treatment and can see the big improvement in the way that your teeth look, you will be able to keep the whitening trays and simply request more gel if you decide that you want to top up the whiteness at a later date. Just a small word of caution on this – please do make sure to see your Wickford dentist when you need more gel. Do not buy this over the internet as there are fake gels around which do not work correctly and could even prove to be dangerous. Your teeth are precious so please don’t risk them!
If you are unhappy with your discoloured teeth, whether you are young or into your later years, we will be pleased to help. Simply arrange an appointment with one of our cosmetic dental team by calling us on 01268 733078.