What Causes (and Fixes) Your Gray Teeth?

Should your teeth look brown, yellow, or both, you’re not likely to feel all that surprised. Plenty of people get tooth stains with those colors. Still, do you know what to think (or how to react) when your pearly whites turn gray? Your Farmington dentist will gladly offer some pointers, if not, thus ensuring your smile looks great again. To that end, here’s a primer on what causes and fixes your gray teeth.

What Causes Gray Teeth?

Though a tad rare, gray teeth have various known causes. The most notable ones are:

• Antibiotic Exposure – When exposed to the antibiotic tetracycline in the womb, some teeth turn a blue-gray color. This coloring is permanent and isn’t affected by brushing.
• Tooth “Death” – Teeth will often turn dark gray as their pulp and nerves die. Therefore, perhaps a few of your grayish teeth are “dead.”
• Dental Restorations – After their application, dental restorations can sometimes make teeth look gray or blue.
• Natural Coloring – While it might sound odd, some teeth are simply blue-gray from birth due to genetics.

How Can You Fix Them?

If you want to do something about your gray teeth, just visit your cosmetic dentist. Several dental procedures can change their color for the better, such as:

Porcelain Veneers & Crowns

For those willing to consider invasive options, porcelain veneers and crowns could work wonders. Either would make your teeth look nice and white.

Remember, veneers and crowns alike are high-grade restorations. They cover damaged and ugly parts of your teeth with durable and beautiful porcelain. The result is that they can hide chips, stains, cracks, and even tooth stains once they’ve been placed. As such, you could trust them to make your grayish teeth look naturally beautiful.

Zoom! Teeth Whitening

Those preferring a milder approach should look into Zoom! teeth whitening. Through this treatment, you’d get a whiter smile without invasive restoration work.

Zoom! whitening uses special hydrogen peroxide gel to bleach your smile. This “whitener” can seep into the pores of your enamel, thus removing stains of any color – brown, yellow, or even gray. Such effects would apply whether you undergo the in-office version or use at-home trays; the only difference would be how quickly you achieve your results.

Since you now know what causes and fixes your gray teeth, look into dental treatment soon. There’s no need to live with a discolored grin when you can transform it!

About the Practice

Farmington Valley Dental is based in Farmington, CT. Led by Dr. Thomas G. Peters, our practice “chooses” to make your smile – its health, its beauty, and so on – the highest priority. We thus provide a wide range of tailored dental treatments, which span preventive and cosmetic care to restorative and emergency work. Naturally, our team can easily handle any gray teeth you might have! For more details or to book a visit, please contact us on our website or by phone at (860)-677-8500.