Are your child’s teeth turning yellow? Yellow teeth in children don’t necessarily indicate tooth decay, but it is prudent to deal with the plaque and other stains before they get out of hand. Your child can develop yellow teeth for several reasons, including poor oral hygiene and sometimes even genetics. Why should you worry about toddler teeth stained? The permanent of pretty long-term effects of yellow teeth in children vary, depending on the cause of the staining. Yellow teeth in children are prone to decay, weakness, or even chip, affecting the general biting and tearing functions. In extreme conditions, stained teeth pose social concerns. Other kids may tease children with stained teeth, intimidating their self-esteem and confidence.
Toddler yellow teeth affect children of all ages, but the condition is manageable and treatable if you talk to an experienced children dentist. Is there a dentist near me in North Hollywood? Victory Plaza Dental Group has the best children dentist in North Hollywood and its environs. Besides our convenient location, we have a poised staff ready to give your child a pleasant experience. We offer different approaches in toddler teeth stained situations, including dental treatments, home remedies advice, and tips to prevent future conditions. This article discusses how to get rid of yellow teeth in children.
Why Are My Child’s Teeth Yellow?
Typically, baby teeth should be whiter than adult teeth. However, when children start to lose their baby teeth, you might notice the color difference when adult teeth begin to grow. As a parent, you may be wondering why are my child’s teeth yellow? This is because adult teeth have more dentin than baby teeth, making them look slightly stained under translucent enamel. Once the child develops adult teeth, the yellow staining may now be more prevalent and visible. What could be the possible causes? Why are your child’s teeth turning yellow? It can be because of:
Genetic Disorders
Though uncommon, yellow baby teeth may emanate from a genetic disorder, medically known as dentinogenesis imperfecta. A child suffering from this condition has either one or both parents suffering from the sane. Therefore, the treatment solution for this condition may involve diagnosing and managing the medical aspects. Also, the child can get a thin enamel from the parent. The enamel composition is what protects the tooth and gives it its color. Thus, a thin enamel may result in intrinsic discoloration. It may also trigger cavities or decay, causing stains on the tooth.
Underlying Medical Conditions
Underlying medical conditions can put you or the baby on certain medications that cause staining on the teeth. Prevalent medical conditions that can cause teeth discoloration include hepatitis and jaundice. Drugs that often cause yellow staining in children teeth include antibiotics such as tetracycline when ingested during pregnancy or early childhood. However, the extent of the stain depends on the medication’s duration and the part of the tooth’s enamel exposed during formation. Stains caused by this medication often require thorough bleaching as part of treatment. That is why an experienced doctor will rarely prescribe tetracycline to children under eight years of age.
Food and Drinks
Whatever your family eats or drinks can be the probable cause of yellow teeth in children; highly pigmented foods and beverages such as soya sauce or soda can trigger yellow staining. However, it isn’t harmful to consume these foods. It only worsens if you expose the child to these products for a long time, especially when the enamel is forming. If you can’t avoid pigmented or acidic foods for any reason, we recommend having the child rinse down with water after consumption.
Injury
Accidents or injuries can cause trauma to the teeth, damaging the nerves. If the nerves around or inside the tooth, such as fall, suffer trauma, the child will likely develop yellow stains after a few days. In severe trauma, the stain might also look greyish. However, this staining only forms inside or around the damaged tooth; it doesn’t spread to the surrounding teeth. In that case, you would want to take your kid to an experienced children dentist for whitening, even though it is a temporary solution, especially when the stain is on the enamel. Colors emanating from within the teeth may require extensive, professional attention.
Iron in Supplements
For young children, supplements such as fluorosis or iron in their multivitamins can be a risk factor for teeth discoloration. Fluorosis comes from fluoride and is prevalent in city water supplies, fortified foods, and toothpaste. Discoloration from fluorosis often manifests in white or brown stains, making the tooth’s enamel look yellow. On the other hand, stains from iron supplements may manifest in grey or darkish stains. However, your baby will only develop stains on the teeth if exposed to these supplements during enamel formation. Removing these stains can be difficult; hence, it is always prudent to prevent their buildup through regular brushing and flossing before it’s too late.
Poor Dental Hygiene
Lastly, the leafing cause of teeth discoloration in babies and adults is poor oral hygiene. Poor brushing habits can cause plaque to accumulate around the tooth’s surface, leading to yellow stains. Besides plaques, acidic foods and drinks can also stain white teeth if your child doesn’t brush them away. If your child’s brushing habits worsen, yellow spots may start to accumulate on the enamel. Over time, these spots may lead to holes, casing cavities, or tooth decay. Also, you would want to treat these issues before they infect the gums and the entire jawbone.
How to Remove Baby Teeth Stains
Home Remedies if Your Child’s Teeth Turning Yellow
Before visiting a pediatric dentist in North Hollywood, there are several home remedies you can employ to reverse yellow staining and restore the kid’s smile. Remember, even though baby teeth stains emanate from several factors, poor dental hygiene is still the leading cause. Thus, home remedies primarily work in situations where the yellow stains are due to poor brushing habits, plaque, unhealthy food intake, and other extrinsic factors contributing to tooth discoloration. You can help your kid practice the following home remedies:
Good Oral Hygiene
The best way of reversing teeth staining and preventing other dental complications is by promoting good oral hygiene. Good oral hygiene entails brushing and flossing at least twice a day, preferably in the morning and evening before bed. It will also help if they brush and floss their teeth within an hour of eating sugary or acidic foods. When brushing, don’t forget to remind your child to use a small amount of toothpaste with plenty of water to avoid fluorosis. Good oral hygiene protects the enamel from plaque and stain triggers. Moreover, regular brushing and flossing can help remove mild stains.
Dietary Changes
Children love sugary and acidic foods but often don’t understand the harm they can cause to their teeth, including discoloration. Therefore, you would want to take a break from sweets, soda, and potato chips. Instead, you can change the diet to more hard fruits and vegetables such as carrots, celery, apples, and pears. Besides being healthy, hard vegetables can help clean the teeth during chewing, thanks to the tough exterior that acts as secondary brushing. Additionally, some fruits such as apples are rich in malic acid, a prevalent chemical found in OTC whitening kits.
Over-The-Counter (OTC) Whitening Products
You can visit the local pharmacy store to get whitening products for yellow baby teeth. Unfortunately, an experienced dentist may not recommend OTC whitening products for kids below eight years of age. However, OTC teeth bleaching kits such as whitening teeth may be helpful in children with developed adult teeth. Even so, please seek the advice of a reputable kids dentist before using any whitening product on your child’s teeth. Otherwise, the child might experience severe effects such as gum irritation and tooth sensitivity.
Lemon and Baking Soda
Lastly, you can also try a DIY paste of lemon juice and baking soda. Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate, a well-known bleaching agent in many industries. You’ll need to use this paste at most once a week because the acid in lemon juice can damage the enamel if applied frequently. Have the child apply this paste on their enamel and leave for about a minute before brushing.
Dental Treatments for Toddler Yellow Teeth
When good oral hygiene and home remedies fail to remove yellow teeth in children, it is prudent for parents to visit an experienced children dentist. Sometimes, the cause of toddler yellow teeth could be due to intrinsic complications, mainly when the staining emanates from inside the tooth. So, what treatment options for toddler teeth stained conditions should you expect when you visit a pediatric dentist in North Hollywood?
Professional Bleaching
Professional bleaching is the most popular treatment solution for yellow teeth in children, though not ideal for children below six. An experienced children dentist may prefer applying the treatment when the candidate is a teen. The dentist uses sodium hypochlorite solution (the bleaching agent) before blocking the area with a resin to protect the enamel from possible future staining. The anecdotal accounts of many patients and medical researchers indicate that professional bleaching is safe, fast, and reliable when removing stains due to fluorosis.
Micro-abrasion
Micro-abrasion is nearly similar to professional bleaching, only that it’s a little bit tougher on the teeth. This removal treatment also uses a bleaching agent and is primarily effective on an exterior staining. Stains from intrinsic conditions may require a combination of other treatments. Our dentist will opt for micro-abrasion if the child experiences white spots, dark colors, or even brown spots. Since the procedure is pretty abrasive, dentists don’t recommend more than one visit. In case the staining is severe, the dentist may resort to cosmetic additives to cover the tooth.
Cosmetic Additives
As noted above, some stains may not respond to micro-abrasion or professional bleaching. Sometimes, it is also challenging to remove stains from within the tooth’s surface due to tetracycline. Our dentist will recommend covering the affected enamel with dental cosmetics such as porcelain veneers or bonding in such circumstances. The dentist will scrape a layer of the enamel before adding veneers to seal the area. However, since veneers require thorough maintenance, they may not be ideal for younger children.
In dental bonding, the dentist will apply resin to the affected enamel, buff the area, and then reshape it to resemble a normal tooth. Bonding is also ideal for covering injured or broken teeth. However, bonding is only effective in teeth where the eating or biting brunt force isn’t great.
How to Get Rid of Yellow Teeth for Kids
Even though an experienced children dentist may have answers to your kid’s woes, not all yellow teeth in children respond well to professional treatment or home remedies, primarily if the staining emanates from intrinsic issues. Intrinsic issues can be genetic disorders, underlying medical conditions, or exposure to tetracycline. In that case, you would want to manage the situation to prevent it from deteriorating and help brighten your kid’s smile, regardless. Here are some tips you can leverage:
Foster Healthy Habits
Your kids will likely develop good brushing habits if they copy it from you. Thus, make regular brushing and flossing your family affair at least twice a day (in the morning and before bedtime). On days when the family’s diet is full of sugary or acidic foods, encourage brushing one hour after eating.
Change the Diet
Starches and sugar are suitable for the body’s needs but can be detrimental to the enamel if ingested more frequently, with poor brushing habits. Instead, develop the habit of eating plenty of fresh vegetables and hard fruits. These foods are tooth-friendly and require little brushing after consumption.
Set Brushing Timer
High-quality toothbrushes may come with unique features that don’t require your kid to brush for extended periods. Even so, the thumb rule for healthy brushing is spending two minutes if you want to curb yellow teeth in children. Unfortunately, two minutes is quite a long duration, and your child may need your help and motivation.
How Often to Visit Your Family Dentist
Whether it’s you (an adult) or the child, we recommend visiting your family dentist at least every six months. These visits are necessary for reviewing the overall oral health and spot potential issues such as yellow stains in children. In addition, early diagnosis and treatment by an experienced kids dentist could help save the whole tooth structure from permanent decay.
Final Thoughts
Dealing with yellow stains in children can be pretty easy if you help them develop healthy brushing habits from the word go. Don’t forget to reward and applaud these habits to motivate the kid to stay on it. If you want professional help, diagnosis, and treatment, you can always visit Victory Plaza Dental Group, the best children dentist in North Hollywood.