Poor oral Hygiene Can Lead to Teeth Discolouration- Dentist

 

Adebiyi said that if people failed to clean their teeth properly, it could change the colour leading to teeth discolouration.

According to her, discolouration of the teeth is the deviation of the colour of the teeth from the normal whitish colour to a creamy white colour.

``Tooth discolouration is something that bothers on aesthetics and actually affects the self esteem of our people which in turn affects their productivity indirectly.’’

She said that discolouration of the teeth was more common in older people than children.

``Children normally have white teeth but in adults it varies because an adult’s teeth have passed through adequate mineralisaton.

``So, you do not expect purely white teeth; you tend to have some creamy white colour,” he said.

The dentist said that there were two causes of discolouration which were the local and systemic, while the types which could be determined by intrinsic or extrinsic.

``The local cause and the extrinsic type of discolouration go together, and these types of discolouration are more of stains and are usually caused by what we eat and drink. They are external factors.

``People that eat cola nut, smoke, take a lot coffee and tea are prone to get stains on their teeth,” she added.

She said that people who had extrinsic stains should go routinely to the dental clinic for scaling and polishing to clean the stains off the teeth and should also brush twice a day.

She advised people who smoke to quit because of its health implications besides teeth discolouration.

Adebiyi also explained that the systemic cause of discolouration was as a result of activities happening within the body system, as it could lead to the intrinsic discolouration.

She said that a woman, who indulged in self medication or took tetracycline during pregnancy, could lead to the child coming up with discoloured teeth.

``Let us not forget that the development of a child’s teeth starts in the mother’s womb from four weeks.

``Tetracycline affects the development of the child’s bones and teeth. Similarly, children who take this medication during the period of permanent tooth development may have similar discolouration of their permanent teeth,” he said.

The dentist added that that another cause of systemic discolouration was when a child suffers a trauma either caused by a fall or accident which affected the teeth.

``This type of discolouration starts with the death of the tooth.  The dead blood vessel then gives rise to discolouration,” she said.

According to her, excessive use of fluoride can cause whitish to dark brown discolouration, saying that people should avoid over exposure to fluoride.

Adebiyi said that extrinsic stains could be removed by tooth bleaching depending on the number of teeth involved and the severity of the situation.

``It is of importance to note that bleaching has side effects which can lead to the teeth becoming sensitive because you are causing some ``demineralisation’’ of the teeth which exposes the nerve endings of the teeth that where hitherto covered by the enamel.

``Once the teeth become sensitive, the person will find it hard to take cold or hot things,” she added.

Adebiyi said that another remedy for intrinsic discolouration was a process called ``crowning’’.

``If the affected teeth are fewer, the tooth is trimmed down and a cap will be used to cement the crown to the tooth. This crown usually has a colour of a tooth.

``What happens here is that an impression of the affected tooth will be taken and an impression will be fabricated specially for the patient.”

She advised people to take oral hygiene very important to prevent tooth decay, saying people should brush their teeth twice daily, in the morning and last thing at night.