A girl covering her teeth

Are White Teeth Necessarily Healthy Teeth? Ask Your Dentist in San Diego

These days it’s easy to feel self-conscious about your smile if it isn’t as white as you’d like. Especially since it seems like everyone else has a perfect, sparkling set of pearly whites! But if your teeth are discolored does that mean that you have cavities or other issues? Not necessarily, according to a dentist in San Diego. In fact, someone with stained or yellow teeth can actually have great oral health. Somewhat surprisingly, the appearance of the teeth isn’t always an indicator of how strong they are. Keep reading if you’d like to know more about the difference between white teeth and healthy teeth – and how you can have both!

Why Is It That White Teeth Don’t Guarantee Being Cavity –Free?

The color of the teeth is determined by heredity, although that color can be easily changed with the whitening treatments available today. A cavity occurs when the bacteria in the mouth produce acid that breaks down the outer layer of the tooth called enamel.

These two things are separate and distinct. Someone can have dark yellow teeth but the enamel may be in great shape. Similarly, a person can whiten their teeth but might still have decay.

In the same way that your eye color doesn’t dictate how well you can see, the shade of your teeth only affects their appearance and nothing else.

How Can You Have a Strong, Beautiful Smile?

The first step to having a smile that looks the way you’d like it to is to have a good foundation of oral health.

But since the color of your teeth isn’t an indication of how healthy they are, how can you tell? The best way is seeing your dentist every six months for a checkup and cleaning.

These visits are not only a chance for you to have a thorough cleaning but are also an opportunity for a professional to check for cavities, gum disease and other problems.

And of course, you can also talk to your dentist about whitening treatments that can brighten your smile.

In between checkups, be sure to brush twice each day and floss once. In addition to providing a more thorough cleaning, an electric toothbrush will remove stains better than a manual brush. And while a “whitening” toothpaste won’t actually change the color of your teeth, it will also remove surface stains better than a regular formula.

Other things you can do include avoiding tobacco products and minimizing sugars in your diet to prevent decay. Even simple changes like reducing your soda intake can make a big difference.

About the Author

Dr. Greg Friedman and Dr. Kory Grahl are general, restorative and cosmetic dentists who always take the time to educate their patients about taking great care of their teeth and gums. Knowing that healthy smiles are beautiful smiles, they get immense professional satisfaction from helping people achieve their cosmetic goals. They can be reached for questions via their website or at (858)-682-2394.

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