Teeth - discolouration? Any dental nurses/dentists on here?

[Katie342]

I’ve noticed this morning slight discolouration on my front tooth. Anybody have any ideas/had this?

Do you chew pencils/pens? Coffee/tea , chlorhexidine containing mouthwashes , vapes , iron supplements eg spatone also stain .

Looks as if it will easily polish off.

Thanks for responding @Lollygaggle! I only have one coffee a day. And none of the above! Hopefully it’ll just polish off. Not due the hygeinist for another month or so. The surface of the tooth feels fine and I’m not in any pain. Just looks like some staining has settled on the tooth in like a ripple pattern 🤷🏻‍♀️

I got terrible discolouration after using corsodyl mouthwash for a few days. Have you been using this?

@LoopyGremlinno I haven’t. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Did yours manage to fade with just brushing?

Yes, it's dreadful for staining teeth. A family member was recommended by his dental therapist to use it for two weeks. He had to reduce to every other day after just a few days as it was staining so badly. It seems crazy to me that dentists and dental therapists are happy to recommend a product that needs a scale and polish or hygienist appointment in order to remove the staining it causes. Also has staining from liquid iron.

OP - have you been eating lots of walnuts, as they can stain teeth, too.

The dentist polished it out and told me to stop using. I genuinely thought I had some sort of decay!

@LadySuzannethanks. I haven’t but will have a look at my diet as I have had a radical overhaul in the last three months so must be something!

Have you taken any antibiotics recently? I had some a few years ago and noticed my teeth started to become stained.

OP try Eucryl powder, or whitening strips.

@Allseeingallknowingthanks! Haven’t heard of that powder but it has rave reviews on Amazon so will definitely try it 👍

Eucryl powder has the highest abrasive index of any dental product. It is great for cleaning grouting but will wear tooth enamel away really quickly , avoid.

Whitening strips that you can legally buy in the EU and U.K. have not got enough of the whitening ingredient in to do anything at all. The ones you can buy illegally off the internet from criminals knowingly breaking the law ……..

Fruit teas can also stain , as can cola, blackcurrant juice, vimto .

Are you using any whitening or bleaching products on your teeth or drinking hot water and lemon juice? Both of these etch enamel and make it more likely to pick up stain.

It sometimes happens from drinking too much coffee, black tea, or certain medications ie antibiotics etc.

Antibiotics do not discolour teeth , except tetracycline , if it is taken whilst the enamel is forming ie in a very young child , then it can permanently turn the enamel a grey colour . It’s why tetracycline has not been prescribed to young children for forty plus years .

No other antibiotics stain teeth , but medications like iron supplements can.

@Lollygagglemany thanks - super informative! Do you work in the dental industry? I am taking tablet form iron supplements not liquid - wasn’t sure if that’s what you meant? Or if it was just the liquid stuff. That is a fairly recent thing actually. I’ve also eaten a lot of cherries and summer fruits recently so maybe that’s contributing 🤷🏻‍♀️☺️

Iron supplements in tablet form can also stain teeth particularly if left in the mouth for a long time whilst chewing .

I could say I ave a lot of experience in dentistry but there is no way of checking that , I could just be a random poster with strange interests!

@Lollygagglelol. Well thanks for posting. All very helpful and much appreciated ☺️