It is essential to take care of your oral health, teeth, and gums to avoid bad breath and tooth decay. Maintaining good oral health is also essential in reducing the risk of gum disease. To maintain a good and healthy smile, the last thing you want is to get rid of brown spots in the grooves of your teeth.
Brown spots on the teeth may appear very subtle and noticeable, ruining your perfect smile. If you have these stains, you may need to understand more about the reasons and how to get rid of brown spots on teeth. Here, we have covered everything you need to know about brown spots on your teeth, how they are caused, and what you can do to treat them.
Table of Contents
Symptoms of Brown Spot on Tooth
As predicted, brown spots on the teeth are not at all difficult to diagnose, especially when they appear on the front teeth, disturbing your perfect smile. These stains can appear anywhere on the teeth but will commonly be found in the front, upper teeth, or the pits or grooves of the back teeth. Moreover, a diet high in red wine, tea, coffee, or soda can result in more brown stains on the teeth.
The earliest and most easy to identify symptoms of brown spots on teeth is discoloration of the teeth. In addition to the appearance of brown spots, a person may experience sensitivity, gum bleeding, bad breath, or pain. Hence, it may be necessary to visit the dentist as soon as possible if you notice brown spots on your teeth.
Causes
Why do I have a brown spot on teeth after braces? There are multiple reasons why people get brown stains on their teeth. The first step in getting rid of these stains is identifying the underlying causes leading to discoloration of the teeth, preventing the further buildup of stains. Here are some of the most common reasons identified.
1. Tobacco
Tobacco is one of the drugs that turn your teeth brown and can lead to heavy brown staining. Cigars, cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco are one of the common causes leading to brown stains on teeth. People who smoke have the most staining at the back of their front teeth. Nevertheless, this staining can also be between the teeth.
2. Food and Drink Intake
Tooth discoloration like brown, grey, or yellow spots may appear due to the food and drink. Tea, coffee, red wine, sports drinks, soda, dark berries, pomegranate, cola, blackberries, blueberries, pasta sauce, etc., can be the cause behind teeth staining. If they can stain your clothes, they can stain your teeth too. While these foods and drinks won’t lead to severe stains; however, they can get worse if taken regularly.
3. Buildup of Tartar
When you don’t floss or brush regularly, the plaque hardens, becoming calculus or tartar. Since this is porous, it also serves as a magnet for teeth discoloration and staining. Ranging from yellow to shades of brown, tartar is most commonly found along with or below the gumline of at the back of the front, lower teeth.
4. Fluorosis
Fluorosis is also a common cause of pitting and brown spots appearing on the teeth’s surface. While some level of fluoride in water can be useful in protection; however, too much use can lead to dental fluorosis. This usually occurs when children’s teeth are forming. In most cases, fluorosis is only mild and leads to lacy white markings on the teeth. Though rare, severity can lead to pitting on the tooth enamel and the appearance of brown spots.
5. Aging
Naturally, as we age, our teeth absorb more stains from the environment and the foods we eat or drink. Like our skin, our teeth also age with time. This is why you can often see brown spots appear on the teeth as you age; the main factor is the exposure of the inner tooth layer called the ‘dentin.’ Other factors that may contribute to staining from drink, food, etc., darkening dentin.
6. Intake of Medicines
Certain medicines can also lead to teeth staining, especially if they are taken in liquid form. Similarly, if mothers had taken medication during their pregnancy, it could also result in teeth staining in the children. Chlorhexidine, for example, is a medicine that treats gum disease, but if taken excessively, it can cause brown spots on teeth.
7. Enamel
Due to certain environmental or genetic factors, your teeth may not have some of the essential minerals/vitamins inside, leading to a specific congenital or medical syndrome that affects the teeth. Enamel hypoplasia may be caused by maternal illness, vitamin deficiencies, toxin exposure, a malnourished pregnancy, etc. This condition may affect one tooth or more, leading to brown or yellow, rough-textured spots.
8. Lap or Pool Swimming
Recreational or competitive swimmers may note the appearance of brown spots or stains on their teeth when they spend too much time in the pool. This is believed to be true because the makeup of water and chlorine can cause the teeth to stain. The build-up of these stains may appear within a few months.
9. Celiac Disease
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that can cause dental enamel defects, one of which is the appearance of brown spots on the surface of the teeth. The first sign of the celiac disease is often a difference in the appearance of your teeth, leading to brown or white stains.
10. Supplements and Vitamins Intake
Taking multi-vitamins can also result in the appearance of what is known as “black line stain” that may build up gradually. While it doesn’t affect everyone, only a few people are affected by it.
11. Recreational Drugs
Inhaling recreational drugs or vaping can lead to brown stains on the teeth’s front. Marijuana, on the other hand, is known to cause green-colored stains often on the front of the upper teeth the more your use these drugs, the more the staining.
12. Genetics
The color of the teeth can vary from one person to another based on their genetics. Naturally, some people have beige or yellow teeth, while others have white. Genetic disorders like dentinogenesis can lead to brown spots on the teeth.
Prevention
Why head to removing the types of teeth stains if you can prevent them from happening in the first place. Understanding what can cause brown spots on the teeth will help you maintain them better. While you cannot wholly avoid staining, you can take some steps to prevent them from worsening.
1. Brush regularly, twice a day.
2. Avoid vaping, tobacco, and other such recreational drugs
3. Visit your dentist regularly
4. Floss the sides of every tooth at least once a day
5. Use a straw when taking dark liquids
6. Rinse your mouth with water when you’re done swimming
7. Take water between your meals
8. Get yourself an electric toothbrush
Treatment
Treatment of brown spots on the teeth may be done naturally at home or at the dentist’s office. Some at-home treatments can also be helpful, but you may want to visit the dentist in some cases. Here are the ways to treat brown spots on teeth.
At-Home Treatment
How to remove brown stains from teeth naturally? Before heading to the dentist’s office, here are a few ways you can treat brown colors on teeth at home.
1. Brush twice a day thoroughly, covering all the areas of the mouth
2. You can use flossers or such cleaning devices to clean regularly between the teeth
3. Try using bleaching kits, whitening toothpaste, or whitening strips. Make sure to follow all the instructions properly to guarantee effective results. Don’t overuse these kits since they can thin your enamel. And use those products are approved by ADA.
Visit a Dentist
If you have a dental condition of enamel hypoplasia that causes brown spots, you should visit a dentist. It can be treated by bonding or sealing the teeth to prevent them from damage. These procedures can either be semi-permanent or permanent.
How to get rid of brown stains on teeth near gums? Professional whitening procedures are also very effective in getting rid of brown spots. If the home treatments don’t work, you would need to visit your dentist. The procedures at the dentist’s office to remove brown spots may include the following;
1. Chairside whitening
2. Dental prophylaxis involving cleaning and prevention treatment
3. Composite bonding
4. Power bleaching
5. Porcelain veneers
When to See a Doctor?
Do you suffer from brown stains on teeth that aren’t going away with home treatment? Are you also experiencing other symptoms like toothaches or sensitivity other than staining? While brown spots on teeth can be considered a cosmetic issue, it can also point to severer problems like tooth decay or dying tooth. This condition’s earlier stages often are white spots, while large decaying areas can become brown. An examination at the dentist’s office will determine whether you should worry about the stain or not.
Your dentist can tell if the brown spots are safe to bleach using a whitening product or whether you’d need some physical treatment like maybe a filling.
So, concluding, you should visit your dentist regularly to get your teeth cleaned, and if you see brown spots on teeth that aren’t going away, make sure to visit the dentist as soon as possible before it gets worse.
Conclusion
In some cases, brown spots on your teeth may just be a cosmetic concern, but in other cases, it may point out some serious issues such as tooth decay. We have explored the different causes of brown spots on the teeth above and how you can treat them at home. However, to prevent them from occurring, it’s best to take preventive measures. Prevention is always better than cure.
If you maintain good oral hygiene, limit the intake of dark beverages and food, maintain regular teeth cleanings, brush and floss regularly, you can reduce the risk of teeth staining. Nevertheless, if the problem is within the tooth’s internal structure, you may need to visit the dentist for other, better options. Whenever you feel in doubt, make sure to visit the dentist as soon as possible.