Brown spots on the teeth - causes, treatment & prevention

Teeth are not just white. It can brown spots on the teeth to be available. Dentists and dental technicians initially roughly divide into yellowish, reddish and greyish shades, each of which has numerous nuances that can be combined even on a single tooth.

description

Brown spots on the teeth are clearly different of the the actual tooth color and are aesthetically disturbing. They usually occur on the edges of fillings, in narrow places between teeth, below the gum line, flat on the tooth and particularly often on the inside of anterior teeth.

The tongue perceives the brown spots as uncomfortably rough spots and the person concerned suspects that his teeth are affected by caries. The brown spots cannot be removed with everyday dental care methods remove and even special toothpastes with particularly aggressive cleaning particles are unsuccessful or can even damage the tooth enamel if it is removed too hard. However, not every color deviation indicates a condition worth treating, even if it may not meet aesthetic requirements.

causes

Carious defects are also recognized as brown spots in the advanced stage and require immediate dental measures. Some medications, including some antibiotics, are considered to cause discoloration. In rare cases, dark spots in the enamel are caused by disturbances during tooth development or are inherited genetically from the family.

Diagnosis and course

Significant discoloration and brown spots on the teeth, even if they only adhere superficially, require a diagnosis by a dentist. It is important to find out the cause of the brown discoloration. Should the test using a dental probe show that the tooth substance is in the area of a brown spot soft is usually carious. These urgently need to be treated conservatively with plastic fillings or inlays.

If the practitioner determines that the brown spots only lie on the tooth enamel, the removal is one of the precautionary measures that are suitable to prevent diseases in advance. The various yellowish to brownish deposits can be so tough and hardened in connection with tartar that only a specialist can remove them with special instruments.

Treatment and therapy

If the diagnosis is confirmed after a thorough examination of the entire oral cavity, a treatment plan for professional tooth cleaning can be drawn up, according to which the brown spots on the teeth are reduced and finally eliminated. In the first place is the removal of the plaque from the tooth surfaces, from the interdental spaces and from all accessible places below the gum line with manual instruments and ultrasound instruments.

The finest metal polishers are used to remove deeper deposits. Some surgeries have a powder jet device, which makes flat brown spots on the teeth disappear. Finally, polishing instruments made of plastic or pastes with a decreasing finer grain size are used, which smooth the tooth surfaces to delay further deposition of dental plaque. A fluoride varnish is applied to the surfaces cleaned in this way, which is protective over the entire tooth and can serve as protection for a few months.

If the causes of brown spots on the teeth cannot be determined and cannot be eliminated by professional cleaning measures, there is the option of crowning the affected teeth or restoring them with very thin-walled ceramic veneers.

Brown stains may result from the fact that the plastic material used in older fillings darkens. This can be remedied by replacing the filling.

prevention

To get into narrow interdental spaces, the use of dental floss, interdental brushes and irrigators is essential. Manual toothbrushes and heads of electric toothbrushes must be moved correctly from the gums to the cutting edge or to the chewing surface.

Only a regular replacement of the brushes prevents bacteria and plaque from resettling and thus new brown spots on the teeth. In addition, the use of tongue cleaners and fluoride gels is recommended. A check of the hygiene status in the mouth and jaw area by a dentist is essential twice a year.

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Weber, T .: Memorix Dentistry. Thieme, Stuttgart 2009
Hellwege, K.D .: The practice of dental prophylaxis, Georg Thieme Verlag, 6th edition, 2003
Kramer E. Prevention Guide, Basics of Dental Health; German Dentists Publishing House (2009)

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Comments and experiences from other visitors

cruncher commented on December 29, 2014

I currently have the same problem and I don’t know how to help. I am going to change my dentist now because he only recommended it through the regular use of "Elmex jelly" the condition of my teeth would change.