Uneven / Discoloured Teeth

A smile is the best accessory one can wear,and everyone loves to show off a set of pearly white teeth when they smile.

As we age and as everyday life takes its toll on our teeth,gradually these pearly whites change their shade. Drinking too much tea or coffee, smoking or even eating strongly coloured foods can stain and discolour them. There are toothpastes available that will help remove these stains, but they can't change the actual colour of the tooth underneath.

The colour of your teeth is determined by your DNA, just like the colour of your hair or your eyes. As we get older, the dentine - the soft, pulpy substance below the enamel that protects the nerves and the blood supply to the tooth - changes colour, becoming more yellow. This is something which a stain- removing toothpaste alone cannot help.

Causes of Tooth discolouration :

Your teeth may become discoloured as the result of a number of factors.

These include:

• Diet and oral intake: smoking or drinking a lot of tea, coffee or red wine can stain the teeth over time.
• Acidic Food & Drink: Fizzy drinks, fresh fruit juice and foods like yoghurt can dissolve the outer enamel. As the enamel thins, the yellow dentine becomes visible, giving the tooth a yellow look.
• Vomiting & Reflux: Exposing the teeth to stomach acid through frequent vomiting due to Pregnancy, Anorexia, Bulimia or reflux can also dissolve enamel and cause the teeth to take-on a yellow hue
• Ageing: Teeth do darken naturally as we age.
• Tetracycline Staining: Tetracycline taken up to the age of about five can cause the teeth to become very discoloured.
• Antibiotics Staining: antibiotics can sometimes cause tooth discolouration.
• Nerve death: A tooth where the nerve has died - probably as the result of infection
• Following Root Canal Treatment

If you are a candidate for whitening there are several ways to whiten your smile:

• In-office bleaching

This procedure is called chairside bleaching and usually requires only one office visit. The dentist will apply either a protective gel to your gums or a rubber shield to protect the oral soft tissues. A bleaching agent is then applied to the teeth, and a special light may be used. Lasers have been used during tooth whitening procedures to enhance the action of the whitening agent.

• At-home bleaching

Peroxide-containing whiteners actually bleach the tooth enamel. They typically come in a gel and are placed in a mouthguard. Usage regimens vary. There are potential side effects, such as increased sensitivity or gum irritation. Speak with your dentist if you have any concerns.

• Whitening toothpastes. All toothpastes help remove surface stain through the action of mild abrasives.

There are other ways a dentist may whiten your teeth, for example with the use of lasers, which may be quicker. Lasers are used to speed up in-office teeth whitening procedures. A peroxide bleaching solution, applied to the tooth surface, is ''activated" by laser energy, which speeds up of the whitening process.

Uneven Teeth

A disharmony between tooth-size and jaw- size can result in crowded, irregular teeth. Crowded teeth can be unattractive and more difficult to clean. Crooked, crowded and overlapping teeth that don’t fit together, (technically termed malocclusion), can cause a range of oral health problems, including:

• Dental caries (tooth decay) and gum disease – misaligned teeth are harder to clean, particularly if they overlap.
• Injury to the gum – a misaligned tooth may sink into the nearby gum and cause injury.
• Wear and tear – if teeth are misaligned, the action of chewing may grind the teeth unevenly.
• Jaw injury – a bad bite may place stress and strain on the jaw joints.
• Dental Veneers for discoloured teeth

Unfortunately it is often the case that the cause of the discolouration is such that no amount of cleaning nor bleaching will improve it. If the enamel has deteriorated to the extent that the underlying yellow dentine is visible we must cover it rather than trying to change the colour .

Dental Veneers are an ideal way of whitening discoloured or yellow teeth. They are think porcelain shells that fit over the front surface of the tooth. They can also help close unwanted gaps between teeth and to some extent help correct the appearance of crooked teeth. However, veneers are suitable for the front teeth and are not for the rear 'chewing' teeth. Neither are they suitable for anyone with bruxism. They should only be applied to healthy unfilled teeth.

• Veneers also provide a quicker solution for straightening out malaligned teeth compared to orthodontic treatment.
• Dental Crowns

Crowns are the ultimate solution for very heavily stained or eroded teeth as well as malaligned teeth that may have other defects as well. A crown is a cylinder made from Porcelain fused to a metal core that is placed over your natural tooth.

Your own tooth is first prepared to take the crown. It is shaped into the form of a post and then its impression is cast.

The new crown is hand crafted to fit. This gives us the opportunity to produce a tooth that is a better shape and/or size than the old one and we can vary its colour to match adjoining teeth or to be much whiter than before. The new crown is then cemented in place.

With the latest technologies and advances in dentistry everyone can have the perfect smile they wish to have at any age.