What Are The Black Strains On My Teeth?

Food and Drinks Stains

Do you drink a lot of coffee, tea, or red wine? Do you smoke? These are common causes of black stains on teeth.

Some of the other culprits include curries, pasta sauce, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and berries. All of these have ingredients that stick to the surface of the teeth and cause staining.

Dental Calculus

The more serious cause of black stains on teeth is dental calculus. If you don’t brush or floss as often as you should, food debris stays on your teeth. Over time, if you don’t remove it, it hardens to form calculus or tartar.

Black staining caused by dental calculus usually appears on the visible part of the teeth. However, sometimes it appears near the gums. If this is the case, you should seriously consider removing black stains from teeth. Not only do black stains affect the look of your teeth, harmful bacteria from the calculus causes gum disease and gum recession.

What Happens If I Don’t Remove Dental Calculus?

Over time, more and more food debris gets stuck and more bacteria grow. Teeth stains get darker. Eventually, bad bacteria from the calculus can cause gum disease, damage to the bones supporting the teeth, and other serious health problems.

Removing Black Stains From Teeth

The method you should choose to remove black stains from your teeth largely depends on the cause.

If you think your teeth stains are caused by food and drink:

Try at-home whitening with the Efero Teeth Whitening Pen to clean the teeth and remove stubborn stains.

If your teeth stains are caused by dental calculus:

This is a job for an ultrasonic tooth cleaner like the OralPerfect™ Tooth Cleaner. The tool vibrates at a very high frequency to remove calculus and other deposits. Then if you want to, you can follow up with a teeth whitening pen!

Removing black stains from teeth at home is possible, but preventing them in the first place is the ideal. Remember to follow the golden rules; have a good oral hygiene routine and see your dentist regularly!

For more articles on dental care and oral health, check out the rest of our blog.