Healthy Teeth are Supposed to be Super White. False!!!

It is commonplace to hear people say that clean / healthy teeth are white meanwhile pale yellow teeth are not clean / unhealthy. This is not true.

A Dental Surgeon, Dr Linda Njeatih Umeyugho epouse Nzometia states that healthy teeth in adults are not supposed to be super white.

“This is because teeth colour comes from the dentine. The dentine naturally has a pale yellow colour. In some people it is greyish. The dentine is the second layer of the natural teeth meanwhile the first layer is the enamel. The enamel is translucent so it simply reflects the colour of the dentine. Therefore, the colour of the teeth comes from the dentine, not the enamel,” the Dental Surgeon explains.

According to Dr Linda Njeatih, the thickness of the enamel determines the level of translucency. So the thicker the enamel, the lesser the reflection of the colour of the dentine. “That is why some people may have slightly whiter teeth but not super white. Healthy teeth are not super white,” she insists. “They are either pale yellow or whitish grey.”

To Dr Linda Njeatih, somebody who has super white teeth has certainly done something like teeth whitening which weakens the teeth and makes them suceptible to attack by bateria.

The Dental Surgeon however notes that someone with teeth which are not pale yellow but instead dark or super yellow certainly has a problem.

Factors Affecting Teeth Colour

“Different things can affect the colour of your teeth,” explains Dr Linda Njeatih. “For a tobacco consumer, nicotine stains the teeth. Things we drink like Coke and coffee and even foods which are colourful end up colouring our teeth overtime as well. If someone consumes such and doesn’t take time to brush the teeth or doesn’t visit the dentist as recommended (at least once or twice a year), he will have super yellow or dark coloured teeth due to accumulation of plaque.”

She further says that some drugs that people take also affect their teeth. “Even drugs that pregnant women take could affect the unborn child.”

The Medic notes that when a child of eight years and below takes Tetracycline or any other Cycline medication, it colours the teeth.

Fluorosis is also a condition which affects the teeth. The Dental Surgeon explains that people in areas where the water is hyper-floridated end up having teeth with yellowish spots.

Medics also say that some teeth colours are inherited from the family though this is not very common.

“Moreover, the older you get, the more your teeth become yellow because as time goes by, the enamel degrades and reduces in its thickness and so the colour of the dentine is reflected more,” explains Dr Linda Njeatih.

In all, Dr Linda Njeatih advises that teeth whitening is recommended only for those who have a medical problem and not a solution to healthy teeth since healthy teeth are NOT super white. They are pale yellow or sometimes whitish
greyish in colour.

Eleanor Ayuketah Ngochi

Une pensée sur “Healthy Teeth are Supposed to be Super White. False!!!

Laisser un commentaire

Votre adresse e-mail ne sera pas publiée. Les champs obligatoires sont indiqués avec *

Ce site utilise Akismet pour réduire les indésirables. En savoir plus sur comment les données de vos commentaires sont utilisées.