Here's Why The Edges Of Your Teeth Never Look As White As The Rest

18 July 2019
 Categories: Dentist, Blog

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Whitening your teeth can boost how you feel about your appearance, but sometimes it doesn't have the effects you might expect. If you're wondering why the inside edges of your teeth are always darker or discolored while the rest are healthy and white, here's the deal.

Enamel Damage

Chances are you're experiencing damage to your tooth enamel. This can sometimes happen exclusively on the edges of teeth if people don't floss as much as they should. The plaque and tartar that gather between your teeth can chew away at the enamel enough to weaken and damage it, but perhaps not enough to cause a cavity.

Even so, tooth enamel is what makes your teeth white in the first place. When it wears down, it becomes kind of translucent, allowing people to see the deeper parts of the teeth that aren't quite so white.

Whitening Doesn't Address It

There are two major reasons why your discoloration remains after whitening your teeth. The first is that if you're still not flossing, the discoloration might actually be due to accumulated plaque and tartar. Try seeing a cosmetic dentist for a professional cleaning and whitening treatment in this case, as it may give you the results you want.

However, if your teeth are already clean and they're still discolored, whitening won't be able to help you. Tooth whitening can't impact damaged or lost enamel, so you'll need something a little stronger to get the look you're after.

Veneers

The good news is, cosmetic dentists can help with that, too. What you'll be needing is called a dental veneer.

Veneers are small and shaped just like real teeth. They're made of thin layers of porcelain and are attached with dental cement to a tooth to give it a natural, healthy appearance. Once on, you can keep them for years, but you can also remove them with the help of a dentist, because there's no drilling or external hardware required. This also means that if you ever need dental work done in the future, the veneers won't be in the way.

If you're tired of having the edges of your teeth look discolored, consider the solutions in this guide. If you haven't had your teeth cleaned in a while, upgrade to a professional cleaning and whitening service with a cosmetic dentist. If they're clean but still not looking white, talk to your dentist about veneers instead to get the perfect-looking smile that you're after. Go to sites like https://www.pghdentalspa.com for more information.