Yellow Teeth

My question to you is this: Has she ever taken Tetracycline (antibiotic) before her new teeth came in? I ask this because my oldest took it when he was about 15 months old and his adult teeth came in stained with yellow. It is a side affect that the doctors warn about, but doesn't always happen. Sadly, there is no way to tame care of it. Whitening won't help, as it is deep in the porcelain of their teeth. The only thing that helps is putting veneers over their existing teeth. I hope this is not the case with your daughter. But it is a suggestion I wanted to put out there as a possibility. Ladies, never give your child Tetracycline if there are any other possibilities. The teasing my son has received has been heart breaking...if I could go back in time...well, you all know that one. Good luck! Hugs, Kat

The new teeth coming in always appear yellow for a year or two, but then they whiten up again.

Perhaps it's time for you to jump in with brushing again. If she's not getting the job done herself you should go back in and go over brushing patterns again. Watch how she does it to make sure she's getting all her teeth for equal amounts of time.

I think it is an individual thing, some people's teeth are naturally whiter/lighter than others. Nowadays you can't really tell with all that 'whitening' going on. Certain foods (like nictoine and coffee,which I am sure your daughter does not consume, but perhaps some other foods?) will stain.

Try a plaque detector or toothbrushing rinse aid where you swish some around in your mouth then it colors the areas that still have residue to be brushed off, that might help ensure she is brushing thoroughly?

One of my sister's teeth is more yellow than the others of us. Another sister's teeth is whiter than the rest of us. The sister with the darkest teeth is the one most careful about her hygiene and appearance, so it's probably not the toothbrushing, just her natural color.

not positive yet i believe it's lack of calcium

I dont have the answer, but My third grader, its the same deal. I tend to brush his teeth more and more lately, and htey look whiter when i do it, but again, I dont know why?

I am curious to see if anyone knows! Great Question.

Hey S., I worked for a pediatric dentist for 5 years before staying home with my kids. We got complaints like this all the time with kids your little ones age. When your permenant teeth come in they are naturally darker in color than baby teeth. Once all her baby teeth are gone you will not notice it as much since they won't be right up next to the baby teeth. Good luck!

I know foods tend to "stain" teeth. Typically it is associated with Coffee, but check out the dyes, etc in the foods your family eats.

It could be genetic. My son's teeth are a bit yellow as well. Also, I have heard that giving a lot of antibiotics when they are young can cause discoloration in their permanent teeth, but I don't recall the source of that information to back that up. I don't think other kids notice this sort of thing. If your child is bothered by it, then the only thing that I am aware of that will help is professional whitening by the dentist, but you may want to ask what the damage is to the structure of the tooth before you do this. My dentist said that the structure of the tooth is not fully mature until later in life (teens).
K.