How To Remove Stains From Your Children’s Teeth
How To Remove Stains From Your Children’s Teeth
As a parent, you may want your children’s teeth to be healthy and shiny, doing your best to ensure they remain strong and free of caries.
Brushing them with a FOSOO electric toothbrush is often enough. However, it is possible to find out that their teeth are suddenly staining, developing white, brown, yellow spots, or not being as white and shiny as they used to.
Just as with adults, stains can be removed from children’s teeth. Although sometimes you may require the help of a dentist to restore their natural pleasant color.
Why Are Your Children's Teeth Stained?
Teeth staining can occur for multiple reasons, such as prolonged teeth contact with a pigment or trauma. Furthermore, stains can be divided into two types, according to what layer gets affected.
- Intrinsic stains: These stains are located within the deeper dentin layers. Their most frequent reasons are trauma, mouth injuries, and certain medications. Due to their nature and location, they are often harder to eliminate. However, they are not as frequent on children.
- Extrinsic stains: These stains are located within the outer layers of the enamel. They are easier to eliminate, control, and prevent. Moreover, they are usually related to mouth biofilm, commonly referred to as plaque, and calculus around the tooth.
Most children’s stains are extrinsic and can be eliminated with a better brushing technique or a professional cleaning if necessary. However, in some cases, they can be related to genetics or specific medicine consumption.
The usual reason includes:
Biofilm Or Dental Plaque
Biofilm is the most frequent reason for stains on children’s teeth. It is a thin layer or film made of bacteria, cells, and different organic and inorganic elements.
Dental plaque forms around the teeth and contains many of the microorganisms responsible for caries and gingivitis.
This sticky film is usually clear. However, it is susceptible to staining with food and drinks pigments. Therefore, when left untreated for prolonged times, it begins to absorb the pigments and make teeth look yellow.
Fortunately, brushing alone is enough to remove this biofilm and reveal your children’s teeth’ natural colors. If they are old enough, using a sonic clean toothbrush, such as the ones from FOSOO Kids, will make the cleaning easier and more effective.
Fluorosis
Fluoride is a mineral essential to maintain the teeth strong and protected. It can be found in the water and kinds of toothpaste.
However, exceeding the recommended daily intake of 0.05 – 0.07 F/Kg/Day while the teeth are still developing can lead to a condition called fluorosis.
Fluorosis is an enamel defect that alters the tooth's appearance, making it look like there are white, yellow, or brown color patches on its surface. It can affect both deciduous and permanent teeth.
The stains can only be treated by a dentist by performing a professional dental whitening once the child is old enough or masking them with cosmetic procedures such as veneers and bonding restorations.
To prevent fluorosis, the amount of toothpaste used on children under 3 years old should be the size of a grain of rice. From 3 – 6, it shouldn’t exceed the size of a pea.
Trauma
Every tooth has dental pulp inside of them. This soft tissue possesses nerves and micro blood vessels.
After a heavy trauma, such as a fall or direct impact to the tooth, the blood vessels on the pulp can burst, covering the dentin with blood and turning the tooth dark.
The treatment for this type of stain will depend on whether it is a permanent or deciduous tooth and if the root is formed entirely or not. Usually, the dentist can perform internal bleaching of the affected tooth if all the conditions are met.
Iron Stains And Tetracycline
In some cases, the iron present in children’s supplements can affect the teeth, making them develop black stains on the enamel.
These stains can be removed by the dentist with a professional cleaning. However, it is essential to take your children to consultation before the stain progresses so the cleaning is more effective.
On the other hand, children treated with medications such as tetracycline while the teeth are still forming may develop permanent stains. Therefore, it is usually advised not to prescribe these medicines to children under 8 years old.
These stains can be masked by the dentist using cosmetic procedures.
Genetics
Generics play an essential role in teeth development. On some occasions, your child may be affected by enamel hypomineralization, enamel hypoplasia, or amelogenesis imperfecta. Mild cases of these conditions can look like just a few stains on the teeth. However, severe cases can drastically alter both the color and shape of the teeth.
The dentist can perform different cosmetic procedures to enhance the appearance of the teeth, according to the severity of the case. The treatment can range from composite restorations to dental crowns.
Special Considerations
As a parent, you may be concerned that it seems as your child’s permanent teeth are coming in yellow. However, this is often not a discoloration issue but a natural effect. Permanent teeth are darker in coloration when compared to their deciduous counterparts. This is because they possess a thicker dentin layer, which gives them a darker tone.
However, it is advised to take your children to the dentist if you are concerned about their teeth color as it could be due to an underlying cause.
Teeth stains on children are not as common as on adults. This is because adults have been exposed to agents that stain the teeth for a longer time.
On most occasions, children's teeth stains are due to biofilm, which gives them a yellow coloration. However, they can be easily removed with a toothbrush, restoring the teeth’ natural color.
If brushing was not enough to remove the stains, then make sure to visit the dentist to assess the cause, as it could be due to medication or genetics. No matter the cause, the dentist is capable of performing different types of procedures to make your children's teeth shiny once again.
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