To ignore unclean teeth?

[TheMauveBeaker]

Friend has a 15 year old son. Personal hygiene is very good other than the teeth! Though they are straight, no need for braces, they are very yellow, almost brown. I was shocked when I saw him last week, hadn’t met up with them for a while, and I was taken aback by the brown teeth.

He’s a nice lad, whole family is lovely, but his teeth look like they need attention - they honestly looked like they hadn’t been cleaned for weeks. Feel like it’s such an easy problem to fix and that someone should say something but (a) not sure I’m brave enough; and (b) not sure how to broach the subject.
DH says I should say nothing and I know that’s the easy option. However, teeth are one of my ‘things’, probably because I haven’t been blessed with very good ones!
AIBU - ignore the teeth, it’s not your child/problem
IANBU - say something (what?) it needs sorting now to prevent problems later

My neighbours son was like this for a year or so - coated furry teeth but I know absolutely my neighbour would have spoken to her son about it and therefore he was choosing not to brush his teeth. Don’t say anything.
Son cleans his teeth now.

Wow - how rude.

Myself and my son have fluorosis which causes yellow staining on our teeth. Our teeth are clean and well looked after but it's something I've always been self conscious of because of people like you.

Whitening them is difficult due to the nature of the stains but I was going to try a couple of years ago as new (expensive) treatments are available, but changed my mind when son came home from school upset after another child had commented on his teeth. Until he's old enough to have whitening treatment I've decided to leave mine so he knows we're the same.

Mind your own business and realise it's nothing to do with oral hygiene

WTF is the Ginger thing?

I'd mention it, ask about her ds and the dentist.

Good Lord, I can't believe anyone thinks it's the OPs business!!

You will embarrass him and hurt his mum.
If you say anything be prepared for burnt bridges.

Save for my hubby, they went orange

Mind your own business

Hi I @TheMauveBeaker Is he asthmatic by any chance? Inhalers can cause staining

This! She can see as well as you can I assume, absolutely no point in saying anything.

Ignore please.

My ASD 14yr old has horrific teeth. Baby teeth that haven't come out, so he has a second set in lots of places. Lots of yellow plaque.

But if you'd had to be his parent trying to get him even into a dentist waiting room, and then chasing him out onto the road screaming and being sick, you would have given up on dentists for him too. (same for doctors, it's the smell).

So whilst we've spent £6000 on private braces for DD, DS looks like a child who isn't taken care of. He very much is. But every single thing is a battle!!

A little off topic but my teeth looked dark in a photograph beside two friends and it bothered me. They aren't in real life. The two friends have had veneers, one following an accident and the other following damage from adult braces. I think sometimes we forget what natural clean healthy teeth look like.

Unless your friends are some kind of special needs or visually impaired who need support, then , no, don't say anything.
They can see the same as you, the boy may have some kind of condition? My friends daughter had brownish, spotted teeth, due to having measles as a baby. She was so consious of the them and ended up having veneers at 20. If people had kept informing her of this, she would have no confidence at all.