New teeth are very yellow

[lnlnwsmum]

I have just noticed that my 6yr old son's new teeth are very yellow. His twin sister's are nice and white and I would say he brushes his teeth better than she does. Has anyone noticed this in their children and does anyone have any clues as to why this is and what we can do? Thanks.

Enamel varies in colour and 'creamy' is supposed to be stronger than 'white'. I'd ask your dentist if you're worried.

I was worried about my 7 yr old teeth as they are yellow but the more they grew the whiter they became. The dentist reassured me that the yellow tinge is common with new teeth. I use coulouring tablets now and again to check DS is cleaning properly and they have no tartar and are well looked after.

Thanks for your replies. Yeah I was hoping that perhaps they would whiten as time went by. We've got the battery powered toothbrushes and he doesn't seem to do it too hard but definitely worth checking. Be lovely if it's because they're strong. Those tablets sound like a good idea. Going to the dentist this week so will see what he says. Hopefully he'll say the same. Perhaps by the time he's self-conscious about them, whitening will be common place like in America!

I seriously doubt he'd be brushing his teeth so hard he's wearing off the enamel - after all, if this were the case, then why aren't his baby teeth yellow by now, and why are the adult teeth coming out yellow before he's had a chance to brush them much?!!!!

I've always been led to understand that really white teeth tend to be weaker than teeth with a yellowish-cream enamel.

It's probably just a natural difference and will be less obvious when all the adult teeth are through, because then you're not comparing them with the whiter baby teeth. Adult teeth normally come through more yellow than baby teeth and some peoples' teeth are naturally more yellow than others. Ingesting too much flouride can affect the colour of teeth, but I think it normally results in unevenly coloured teeth, not uniformly yellow ones.

Yes I agree and also I think they tend to get a greyish tinge with too much flouride. Am reassured by the stronger teeth possibility and the whiten in time idea too. If not I'll just have to pull out all his baby teeth so we can't compare!