Yellow teeth

[Le Chat]

My 8yr old son has now got all his front permenant teeth but they are really yellow compared to his primary teeth and also compared to my teeth. Now I know that primary teeth are called milk teeth because they are milky white and the comparison between the new teeth will look more obvious - but they do seem to be very yellow. The teeth themselves are healthy and he has never had to have dental tretment during his check ups. His health is also good. Any ideas anyone?

[ursula62]

Does he drink a lot of cola, or red/orange juice drinks? Food colourings can stain the enamel.

[EssJay1]

Despite what some americans think, there is a wide colour difference between healthy teeth, ranging from white to yellow. You take your child for check-ups - have you asked your dentist if there's a problem?

[racros]

Did you give your son fluoride drops? I gave them to my daughter but not to my son (who is 3 yrs younger and I was advised against fluoride when he was born) My son's teeth are whiter than my daughter's. Perhaps coincidence??

[Le Chat]

He doesn't drink cola or alot of coloured drinks, neither has he had flouride drops! I didn't mention the teeth colour to the dentist as I was waiting to see if they naturally turned a little whiter when they had grown fully!!

[patriciather]

antibiotics can make the teeth discoloured -no remedy for this im afraid.

[miss_chase]

I know that swallowing too much toothpaste can cause white flecks in your second teeth (my lil sister has this) but I reckon ask your dentist!

[crisgal]

i'm so glad you asked this question. le chat, as my 11 year old's teeth are the same. He, like your son has never needed any treatment and has never missed a dental appointment from the age of one!

I haven't mentioned it to the dentist, as we always go together and I don't want to make him self-conscious.

I do remember my mum sending me to the dentist when i was about the same age  - she made me go on my own- and told me to ask him why my teeth were yellow. He was really nice and told me that it was just the colour of them and they were often stronger than pure white teeth, which were slightly softer.

I often think of what he said - my cow of a mother didn't believe me by the way -  and have always wondered if he was just making me feel better. There could be something in what he said though as i have only had one tiny filling in all my forty years!

So, maybe we're worrying unecessarily?

[Le Chat]

Thanks for all your replies. It could well be just the way his is - however, he did have antibiotics when he was only four months old and has had them quite a lot in his 8 yrs. The doctor is much more reticent to prescribe them these days, thankfully!

Crisgal - Thanks, if they are strong teeth then this is good. On an aesthetic level, if they still look yellow when he is older, then he can always have them bleached. No doubt in ten yrs time there will be lots of easy whitening systems about!

[heppie]

Did you take Tetracyclines (antibiotics) while you were pregnant? This is a common side effect.

Having been in the dental industry for some time, I would suggest you go back to your dentist and ask for his/her advice. Often, yellow teeth can be the sign of poor diet, (I am not for one moment suggesting this!) Yellow or creamy teeth are often healthier and have denser bone than very white ones which often have very thin bone density. Hope this helps.