There are several main causes of tooth staining which can lead to permanent tooth stain unless treated with a good oral care regime or teeth whitening process, these are:-

• Lifestyle Choices – smoking, food & drink
• Poor oral care
• Disease
• Antibiotics or other medicines
• Genetics
• Location

The Main Causes of Tooth Staining:-

Lifestyle choices greatly affect the shade or colour of the tooth – choosing to smoke for example is a sure fire way to tooth disclourations as is the choice of food and drink.

Coffee, tea, red wine, fizzy drinks and certain fruits and vegetables all have disastrous affects on our pearly whites.

Fundementally a poor personal oral hygiene regime does not help tooth stain either. Plaque is a menace and failure to remove it quickly soon sees it turn into virtually impossible to remove tartar and stains. Brushing, flossing and cleaning is crucially important to stain prevention.

Unfortunately disease can also play a major part. Several diseases that affect enamel (the hard surface of the teeth) and dentin (the underlying material under enamel) can lead to tooth discoloration.

Treatments for certain conditions can also affect tooth color. For example, head and neck radiation and chemotherapy can cause teeth discoloration. In addition, certain infections in pregnant mothers can cause tooth discoloration in the infant by affecting enamel development.

Antibiotics taken as a child can also cause tooth staining and these are notoriously difficult to whiten. The antibiotics tetracycline and doxycycline are known to discolor teeth when given to children whose teeth are still developing.

Whilst mouth rinses are good for adults to help restore damaged surface enamel (tooth enamel gets thinner over time) it can have an adverse affect on tooth stain if taken at an early age. Mouth rinses and washes containing chlorhexidine and cetylpyridinium chloride can also stain teeth.

Antihistamines (like Benadryl), antipsychotic drugs, and drugs for high blood pressure also cause teeth discoloration.

Age, like everything else catches up with the tooth shade. As mentioned earlier tooth enamel gets thinner over time so any stains that have penetrated the surface enamel will have stained the dentin underneath. This is a likely occurrence as dentin is unfortunately porous and absorbs stains easily!

Finally genetics and where we live also play a part in determining our tooth shade. Tooth shade is biological and that cannot be changed, everybody is born with different thicknesses of tooth enamel which as previously affects shade. 

 Enamel is translucent so it easier to see things through it.

Excessive fluoride either from environmental sources (naturally high fluoride levels in water) or from excessive use (fluoride applications, rinses, toothpaste, and fluoride supplements taken by mouth) can cause teeth discoloration.

For more information on removing tooth stains see our article: How To Get Whiter Teeth