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Robert P. Choi, DDS

The Top 5 Reasons Your Teeth Yellow & How To Fix It



Turn back time on your smile with a brighter and more youthful smile. With a few visits, you too can achieve a whiter smile for less money and time than you imagine with our teeth whitening systems. We offer Zoom! Whitening, and also a home whitening kit using custom-fit trays we make in our office. Dr. Robert Choi will also monitor your treatment to ensure that your teeth are safely, and naturally whitened.

Why Did My Teeth Yellow?

According to the American Dental Association, the following are the main reasons your teeth yellow:

Food and Drink Coffee, tea and red wine are some major staining culprits. What do they have in common? Intense color pigments called chromogens that attach to the white, outer part of your tooth (enamel). Tobacco Use Two chemicals found in tobacco create stubborn stains: Tar and nicotine. Tar is naturally dark. Nicotine is colorless until it’s mixed with oxygen. Then, it turns into a yellowish, surface-staining substance. Age Below the hard, white outer shell of your teeth (enamel) is a softer area called dentin. Over time, the outer enamel layer gets thinner with brushing and more of the yellowish dentin shows through. Trauma If you’ve been hit in the mouth, your tooth may change color because it reacts to an injury by laying down more dentin, which is a darker layer under the enamel. Medications Tooth darkening can be a side effect of certain antihistamines, antipsychotics and high blood pressure medications. Young children who are exposed to antibiotics like tetracycline and doxycycline when their teeth are forming (either in the womb or as a baby) may have discoloration of their adult teeth later in life. Chemotherapy and head and neck radiation can also darken teeth.

How To Brighten Yellow Teeth

For teeth staining caused by food, drinks, tobacco use and aging, teeth whitening is a simple, painless and solution. Staining caused by trauma and medication can be fixed with cosmetic dental work such as veneers or crowns.

How Does Teeth Whitening Work? Teeth whitening is a simple process. Whitening products contain one of two tooth bleaches (hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide). These bleaches break stains into smaller pieces, which makes the color less concentrated and your teeth brighter.

Zoom! In-Office Whitening

In-office bleaching provides the fastest and most effective way to whiten teeth. With in-office bleaching, the whitening product is applied directly to the teeth, and to protect your gums and oral cavity a gel to the gum tissue or use a rubber shield (which slides over the teeth) is applied. Used in combination with a special light, Zoom! Whitening can achieve dramatic results in only one, 30- to-60 minute treatment.

Home Tray-Based Tooth Whiteners

Tray-based tooth whitening systems involves using a custom-fit tray we make in our office that you use in the comfort of your home. The mouth guard-like tray is filled with a gel whitening solution and worn for a period of time for about an hour every day for one to two weeks depending on the degree of discoloration and desired level of whitening. This option is an affordable alternative to in-office whitening, and faster and more effective than store bought brands.

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