If a tooth darkens, what should I do? This is a common question. We will examine it in more detail.
Milk teeth are so called due to the special white shade of tooth enamel. But sometimes parents notice that their children’s teeth lose their original color, and at the same time blacken. In our article, we will talk about what causes the tooth to darken in children and adults, as well as find out why blackness on teeth is dangerous and what needs to be done in such situations, and, besides, why blackness of incisors cannot be left without therapy. Let's start by looking at the causes of the darkening.
Causes of Teeth Darkening
There are a lot of negative factors that can lead to a darkened tooth. Some of them are reversible with proper therapy. But most of them change their dental structure so much that it becomes impossible to restore the original appearance. In addition, blackness on the teeth is a sign of serious pathologies that can lead to serious consequences and complications.
The most common reason why a tooth darkens is because of poor oral hygiene. In the event that the child does not systematically brush his teeth or performs this procedure poorly, then a deposit of food debris accumulates on the enamel surface. At first it has a light shade, but later it becomes denser, the coloring substances of products begin to absorb into it. So people’s teeth gradually turn black.
The use of food and drinks containing dark pigments also causes darkening of the teeth in adults and children. With this option, the incisors blacken immediately after eating. The hue may depend on the intensity of the coloring component and on the presence of plaque on the enamel surface.
Caries
Children's teeth are more prone to caries than adults. This is due to the low density of tooth tissue, and, in addition, with some features of the immune system and poor cleaning performance. As a result, carious lesions can spread to all teeth in a very short time. In this case, a dark spot will first be visible on the enamel surface, which will quickly blacken and increase in size. Sometimes it happens that the carious cavity can spread deep into the tooth without an external defect. Then the incisors become black not on the outside, but on the inside.
Why can a child darken a tooth?
The main causes of tooth darkening in childhood
In childhood, various injuries are a frequent occurrence. It happens that a tooth darkens after a blow in a child. So it is easy to damage the vascular bundles that are located inside the pulp. In the event that a hematoma occurs in this case, the tooth begins to acquire an unnatural dark shade due to the ingress of hemoglobin and other pigments into the dental tissue.
In young children, the use of certain medications (for example, antibacterial from the tetracycline category) can provoke the accumulation of a drug substance in enamel tissues. This leads to the fact that even the very first tooth in a child climbs black.
Why can a child’s tooth darken?
Fluorosis is a pathology that occurs due to excessive consumption of fluoride. It is usually associated with a high concentration of this element in water, or with excessive use of medications with such a component or improperly selected paste for cleaning. With this disease, black dots form on children's teeth, which can merge into vast dark spots among themselves. In parallel, symptoms of damage to the bone and muscle system occur.
Treatment of caries in a child as a cause of darkening of teeth
In children over two years of age, silvering is a popular method for the prevention of caries. This procedure involves processing the enamel surface with a solution that contains silver ions. This drug interacts with the upper layer of enamel, forming a black coating, due to which the teeth darken very much, acquiring a sloppy appearance.
What to do if your front teeth are darkened?
Darkening treatment
Unfortunately, it is far from always possible to restore a natural milky shade to children's dark teeth. In the event that the enamel darkening is caused by a buildup of plaque due to improper cleaning technique, then a visit to the dentist’s office is quite able to solve this problem. The doctor will perform an examination, and, in addition, will make a professional cleaning of dense deposits on the teeth.
Blackening of enamel from food dyes is eliminated even at home. This requires thoroughly brushing your teeth several times and rinsing your mouth properly. After the first cleaning, the enamel color will certainly become much lighter. In the event that black coloring occurs, then in this situation only professional cleaning in the doctor's office will become effective.
Blackening Therapy for Caries
So, the baby’s milk teeth darkened.
In the presence of caries, the main objective of the treatment is to preserve the teeth, especially if the baby teeth still do not change, and the baby has not reached the age of six. In this disease, black color is caused by the accumulation of necrotic masses, colonies of bacteria and food debris, which are particularly susceptible to staining with food pigment. After the doctor removes all the dead tooth tissue and closes the cavity, the blackness will definitely go away, and the teeth will again become light. In exceptional cases, when there is no way to cure tooth decay, the affected tooth is removed.
Darkening treatment for tooth injuries
In the event that the cause of blackening is trauma, which leads to rupture of the pulp vessels and the formation of a hematoma, then the doctor will evaluate the possibility of treatment based on the signs of pulpitis during therapy. If there are no signs of inflammation, then specific treatment is not required. But, unfortunately, it will not be possible to return the natural whiteness.
Other treatments for darkening teeth
Currently, it is extremely rare in children to have problems with teeth that are caused by improper medication. If a similar problem occurs with milk incisors, then it will not work out before their natural change. In this case, oral hygiene will be important so that milk teeth do not darken even more.
Changing the color of enamel with fluorosis is not always possible. The main thing in the treatment of such a pathology is to stop its further progression by reducing the amount of fluoride consumed. It is impossible to get rid of plaque after the silvering procedure. Therefore, this procedure is not recommended for children of school age, as it creates a cosmetic defect that can cause a very negative reaction from peers.
Tooth browning prevention
To prevent blackening of teeth in children is not at all difficult. Parents should not forget about the following few rules:
- It is imperative to control the quality of how children brush their teeth. It is required to begin to accustom the child to this procedure after the eruption of the first teeth. The correct formation of such a useful habit from early childhood will certainly help maintain the whiteness of the teeth and their health in general.
- A complete nutritious diet plays an important role in the prevention of blackening. The presence in the diet of the optimal amount of nutrients, and, in addition, vitamins and minerals several times reduces the risks of developing dental pathologies. To prevent milk teeth from blackening, parents need to limit the child, especially in sweets, carbonated drinks, and white pastries as well. Moreover, every day in the diet should be raw fruits with vegetables and dairy products.
- The proper selection of hygiene products is also very important. A baby who is one year old does not fit toothpaste intended for schoolchildren. You need to regularly change the toothbrush, choosing it according to age.
- In places where the fluorine content in drinking water exceeds standard indicators, it is necessary to carefully monitor the quality of the fluid used. This is especially true for babies of the first year of life, when the active formation of bones and teeth is carried out.
- A regular visit to the dentist for examination and professional cleaning makes it possible to timely avoid blackening of the teeth.
If it is necessary to treat shallow caries or, as part of its prevention, an alternative to silvering is the deep fluorination procedure. Such manipulation avoids the formation of an unattractive black coating and at the same time demonstrates higher efficiency.