Why teeth become black

If you notice black plaque on your teeth, do not be afraid and panic. It is quite easy to return a beautiful and snow-white smile if you know why the enamel on your teeth darkens and what may be the reason in your case. In many ways, dental health does not depend on heredity, but on external factors, care and your lifestyle. Here we will take a closer look at the main reasons why teeth turn black and how to cure it.

Why teeth darken: reasons

First, teeth should be divided into 2 categories: live (there are nerves) and non-living (nerves are removed), and further steps will be taken based on this.

Causes of living teeth darkening:

• Improper hygiene. Insufficiently thorough brushing of your teeth, or its systematic absence, can lead to the accumulation of plaque, which over time will acquire an increasingly darker shade, which will also affect the whiteness of your teeth.
• Smoking. It is no secret that smoking leads not only to yellowing, but also becomes the reason why teeth turn black. This is caused by the tar in the tobacco. By settling on the teeth, it gives the teeth a dark shade. Toothpaste will be of little effect and sometimes even powerless in this case, and only professional teeth cleaning will help, for example, processing with soda under pressure (AirFlow).
• Products with dyes. If you often drink tea, coffee, red wine, juices, and also eat various berries, dark chocolate, then their coloring microparticles can be embedded in the enamel of your tooth, and after a while you may notice that your teeth have darkened. It is not at all necessary to give up these products, it is enough just not to abuse them and brush your teeth after each use. For prevention, it is also recommended to use an abrasive toothpaste 1-2 times a week.
• Tooth decay and eating sweets. Often eating sweets, sooner or later you will encounter caries, which will lead to demineralization of the tooth enamel and the appearance of black spots on the surface of the tooth. You can read more about this in the article "Dental caries: types, symptoms, treatment".
• Tooth trauma. If you have ever been in a situation that caused trauma in the maxillofacial area, then it will not be surprising if you develop black teeth. The reason for this phenomenon may be that due to damage to the neurovascular bundle, hemoglobin gets inside the tooth, and you can observe how the tooth turns black from the inside. And the breakdown of the tissues will lead to the formation of an even darker shade, so you will immediately need to see a dentist to have your teeth cured.
• Poor drinking water. As strange as it may sound, water with a high content of fluoride can lead to diseases such as fluorosis, which spoils the enamel of the teeth. As a result, they turn brown, and then acquire a black tint. Here teeth whitening, unfortunately, will not help, and you will only need to resort to orthopedic treatment, installing crowns on the teeth.
• Metal fillings. If you have copper amalgam fillings, these can lead to the darkening of your teeth over time. These fillings are strong enough for which they are especially loved in Israel and the USA, but if the aesthetic component is important to you, then it is better to replace them with more biocompatible ones and based on different material.
• Сhemotherapy. Such effects cause serious changes in the body, which can also lead to harm to the teeth and their condition.
• Age. The older we get, the more the enamel layer on the teeth becomes thinner, which also leads to darkening of the teeth.

If we talk about dead teeth, then the reason for darkening there is a lack of metabolism, fluid circulation inside the tooth and clogging of the canals in the tooth. Since there is no nerve that would feed the tooth with important microelements, it darkens much faster, and over time it can even acquire a black and gray tint. In addition, the pigments that stain the tooth are not washed out of it, and the only way to avoid all this is to put a crown.

Black teeth treating methods

As soon as you notice that your teeth have begun to darken, it is better to immediately consult a specialist, because there may be not only an aesthetic character, but also be a "wake-up call" to serious diseases.

1. Professional dental hygiene. If you have black streaks on your teeth or stains due to improper care, then, as a rule, in such cases, a professional teeth cleaning is prescribed.
2. Whitening. If the reason lies in your diet, namely the presence of foods with food coloring in it, then, in addition to cleaning, teeth whitening is also recommended. Learn more about whitening.
3. Sanitation and prevention. This method is suitable if your teeth are blackened due to caries or if your teeth are already dead. First of all, before whitening your teeth, you need to heal and strengthen them, and then take further actions to whiten your teeth.

Remember! Visit the dentist regularly, carry out high-quality oral hygiene and do not bring it to an extreme state, otherwise the teeth will not have to be whitened, but removed. And this, in turn, is an unnecessary injury that can be avoided.