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It can be pretty alarming to wake up and notice that your gums are getting darker. After all, they’re a huge part of your smile. Gum discoloration can be a natural occurrence, or they can be a sign of serious health problems that need to be addressed immediately. Thankfully, there are steps you can take to treat your discolored or black gums and get them looking healthy again, depending on the cause. Here are a few of the most common treatment options for gum discoloration.

Treatments for Dark or Black Gums

Nothing! Love Your Gums for Their Natural Color

Some people are born with naturally darker gums than others. It’s completely normal. Gum color varies just like skin color does. If you have a darker skin tone, it’s likely you have darker gums because your body produces more melanin. You don’t need any treatment - your gums are healthy and beautiful just the way they are!

Gum Disease Therapy

If your gums suddenly get darker or turn black over time, it’s likely you have a problem. One very serious issue that causes black discoloration is acute necrotizing periodontal disease, also known as black gum disease. When you have this disease, your gum tissue becomes black as it dies, or experiences necrosis. Along with a change in color, you may notice severe pain, a foul smell and bleeding gums. If you don’t treat black gum disease, it can spread to your cartilage and then your bone. Not good.

Your dentist can treat periodontal disease with gum disease therapy. A gum disease specialist will work on fixing damage to your gum tissue, teeth and bones with surgical and/or non-surgical procedures to alleviate infection and promote gum and tooth reattachment. The exact treatment will depend on the severity of gum disease.

Ask Your Doctor For Alternative Medications

Some types of medication are known to cause gum discoloration. These include minocycline, tricyclic antidepressants and metal-based crown fillings. Though they don’t necessarily harm your gums, they can cause areas of black or grey pigmentation, which doesn’t look to great. If your gums start changing color after you begin taking new medication, speak with your doctor to find out about the medication’s side effects. If gum discoloration is a known side effect, ask your doctor about alternative medications.

Put Out Your Cigarette Once and For All

Along with increasing your risk of getting gum disease, tooth discoloration, oral cancer and many other oral problems, the chemicals in cigarettes can cause gum discoloration. The best thing you can do for your mouth, both cosmetically and for its health, is to stop smoking once and for all. And don’t think e-cigarettes are good for your mouth either. When you stop smoking and vaping, you’re helping your mouth look and feel as healthy as possible for as long as possible.

Treatments for White Gums

Thrush Treatment

If you notice white discoloration in the form of lesions on your gums, you may have thrush. Thrush is a mouth infection caused by fungus. You might run into this problem if you’re stressed, get certain illnesses or take particular medications. Your dentist will provide treatment based on your age and the cause of the thrush. Many times, your dentist will just scrape the fungus from your gums and tell you how to prevent it from regrowing in the future. They may also refer you to a doctor for further treatment.

Leukoplakia Treatment

Another cause of white patches developing on your gums is leukoplakia, a precancerous condition that usually stems from smoking or alcohol consumption. Stopping both of those activities may completely take care of the patch. If that doesn’t work, your dentist may remove the patch with a scalpel, laser or freezing methods. This can help to reduce the risk of developing mouth cancer. If you have leukoplakia, it’s important to check in with your dentist regularly so they can monitor your condition.

Experiencing gum discoloration? Come on into Water Tower Dental Care, Chicago’s #1 general and cosmetic dentist! Our friendly staff will take a look at your gums to find out the cause of the change in color and the best treatment to fix it. You can meet our doctors before you come in here!

Many people who wear braces are worried about keeping their teeth white. After all, cleaning your teeth is much more difficult with braces, and you can’t really use teeth-whitening products on the part of your teeth that’s covered up. What you can do, though, is prevent your teeth from discoloring. Find out how to do this with these 11 easy tips from our dental experts.

1. Follow Proper Oral Hygiene Practices: It’s even more important to take care of your teeth when you wear braces. If you wear braces, we typically recommend brushing your teeth three times a day, using mouthwash when you wake up and before you go to bed, and flossing with Superfloss once a day. Getting into a routine like this should remove daily stains and keep your smile sparkling white.

2. Brush One Tooth at a Time: It’s easy to miss spots on your teeth when there are braces in the way, so try to spend at least 10 seconds brushing each tooth. Move your toothbrush in a circular motion, making sure to brush between the archwires of your braces, and brush at different angles to ensure you’re sufficiently cleaning every part of your tooth.

3. Use an Electronic Toothbrush: Ultrasonic Electric toothbrushes make it easier and more effective for people with braces to clean around wires and brackets. But even if you don't wear braces, Ultrasonic Electric toothbrushes clean much more efficiently than traditional toothbrushes because of their ultrasonic action, breaking up plaque, tartar and stain-causing particles.

4. Brush or Rinse After Every Meal: After you eat, it’s important to get all of the food out from between your teeth and braces. Brushing after every meal will help you take care of any leftover food that can potentially cause discoloring. If you can’t brush your teeth throughout the day, try rinsing your mouth out with water or mouthwash instead.

5. Be Mindful of Teeth-Staining Food and Drinks: Common items that can stain your teeth include red wine, dark juice, sports drinks, black tea, dark soda, coffee, blueberries, blackberries, and beats. Avoid consuming unhealthy types of food and beverages that can stain your teeth. If you do eat or drink things that can cause discoloration, make sure to brush your teeth and rinse out your mouth soon afterwards to keep your teeth white.

6. Eat Food That Cleans Your Teeth: Toothbrushes aren’t the only things that clean your teeth. Firm and crisp food, like apples, celery, raw carrots, and popcorn, can help make your smile shine as well! Try to eat these types of food right before you brush at night.

7. Take Off Removable Dental Appliances: Before you clean your teeth, take off any removable dental appliances, like bands or headgear. This will give you better access to your teeth.

8. Avoid Eating Unhealthy Sugar: Sugary foods, like candy, can cause tooth decay and lead to discoloration. Eating candy can be especially problematic when you have braces, as sticky candy can get stuck in them. Try eating fruits and veggies instead. If you do eat sugary food or drink soda, make sure to thoroughly brush, floss and rinse out your mouth afterwards.

9. Use Superfloss: Superfloss makes flossing much easier for people with braces and other dental appliances. It’s made up of three different parts: a stiffened-end threader (for flossing between wires), soft spongey floss (for cleaning around appliances), and regular floss (for removing plaque normally between your teeth).

10. Ditch the Cigarettes: Smoking decreases the amount of saliva in your mouth, which means the lines of your teeth are not getting cleaned out as much and your teeth aren’t as protected from decay. All of these changes can very likely lead to discoloration in your teeth.

11. Come See The Experts: Other than taking proper daily care of your teeth, the best thing you can do to keep your teeth white and healthy is visit your dentist regularly. We’ll give your teeth a deep clean and let you know how healthy they are and what you can do to improve them.

Feel free to contact Chicago’s Number One Rated Dentistry to see how your teeth are doing. We’re experts at teeth whitening, and we would love to use our skills help keep your smile white and sparkling.

Yellow teeth are an unsightly issue that many of us would love to avoid. Beside the aesthetic reasons for wanting pearly white teeth, there are also health issues that coincide with having whiter teeth.
Your teeth are white thanks to a protective outer layer known as enamel. It protects your teeth from acid and bacteria, but when your teeth are improperly cared for, those acids can break down your enamel and make it translucent. Underneath your enamel is another layer known as dentin. While enamel may be white, dentin is naturally a yellow tone. When your enamel becomes translucent, you are exposing the colors of your dentin to the world.

The older you get, the more your enamel can be naturally worn down. This may be why your teeth are yellowing. However, if you’re still young and are experiencing yellowing of the teeth, it’s most likely caused by foods and liquids that are known to break down your enamel as well as stain your teeth, or by cigarettes. Some foods and drinks contain colored compounds that are able to adhere to your enamel surface and darken the color of your teeth. Here are five of the most common causes of yellow teeth.

Soda and ‘Sports Drinks'

Both the citric acids and the high amounts of sugar in colas, soft drinks, and so-called sports drinks wear down the layer of enamel on your teeth.
Cola is the worst culprit, with its ammonia-based caramel coloring that not only wears down your enamel, but can discolor your teeth as well. Even so, lighter colored soft drinks are just as harmful to your enamel. All of these kinds of liquids are best avoided or limited.

Hard Candy and Gummy Candy

These treats are loaded with acidic sugars that can easily breakdown the enamel on your teeth. What’s worst about these candies is that they stay in your mouth for an extended period of time, which allows the sugars to really do their worst.
Many of these candies can stain your teeth as well. In regards to candy you should avoid, a general rule is that if it can stain your tongue, it can probably stain your teeth.

Red Wine

While a glass of red wine can be a healthier choice than soft drinks, too much wine can break down enamel as well as stain your teeth. Red wine has very deep red colors, which are caused by the compounds polyphenols and tannins. These compounds are very good at staining teeth.

Coffee

We all love our morning coffee, and many of us can’t start a day without it. However, think twice about drinking coffee and leaving the house without brushing your teeth, as this acidic liquid can do a lot of damage to your teeth. The dark color is prime for staining teeth while the acidic attributes can hurt your enamel.

Cigarettes

A big culprit for yellowing teeth is the nicotine in cigarettes. Smoking has no health benefits, yet can very negatively impact the state of your teeth and other body parts. This is one to avoid altogether.
Of course, the best way to keep your teeth as white as possible is to avoiding these foods and drinks as much as possible, as well as cigarettes. When you do consume them, trying having a glass of water along with the food or drink to wash away any of the acids. Also, after consuming any of these foods or drinks, brushing your teeth will help keep the stains from setting as well as remove the acids that are trying to eat away at your enamel.
For more help with your yellowing teeth, contact Water Tower Dental. We can help guide you through best practices or offer our Zoom! Whitening process to bring your teeth back to the pearly white you love.
 

There is a lot of stir about the introduction of e-cigarettes and unknown health issues that they may cause. For the mouth, e-cigarettes seem to have some positives and negatives. It is a better option than regular tobacco cigarettes, but worse than not smoking altogether. Here are a few of the effects of e-cigarettes on the mouth.

Unfortunately, research on e-cigarettes is still very minimal. Because they are a new product, research that can space several decades is still unavailable. However, there are several chemicals and clues that help determine what e-cigarettes can do to the teeth.
Just like any cigarette, the main purpose of an e-cigarette is to inhale nicotine. Studies have shown that nicotine can slow down the production of saliva in the mouth. The more nicotine you intake, the less saliva the body is able to produce. Saliva is a main deterrent to harmful bacteria and food particles in the mouth. Low saliva levels can cause quicker tooth decay, sore gums, and eventually a loosening of the teeth. One positive of smoking e-cigarettes verses normal cigarettes is that you can control the amount of nicotine the e-cigarette will release into the body. This will slow down the eventual effect of lowered saliva levels, at least.
Another effect of nicotine in an e-cigarette or a tobacco cigarette is it acts as a vasoconstrictor, which prohibits blood flow to the mouth. This results in a fewer number of white blood cells capable of fending off infections and bacteria that harm your gums. Fewer red blood cells are also sent to your mouth tissues, which lead to faster deterioration of the tissue and your teeth.
Another concern for e-cigarettes is that they contain diethylene glycol, a highly toxic substance. However, at the current point in research, scientists have not determined how much of the substance is needed to be considered harmful to the body, especially seeing e-cigarettes use a very low amount.
There are a few positives to using e-cigarettes, though they do not outweigh the negatives. For example, e-cigarettes use ingredients such as glycerin and propylene glycol. These are two chemicals are used in toothpaste to help prevent water loss in the paste. The chemicals in e-cigarettes can actually create a coating over the teeth’s surface that can prevent teeth from drying up as well as help kill certain bacteria in the mouth.

What E-Cigarettes Won’t Do (Verses Tobacco Cigarettes)

Compared to tobacco cigarettes, e-cigarettes do have the upper hand. Unlike tobacco cigarettes, e-cigarettes don’t cause a few of the more unpleasant side effects that are caused by tobacco.
Tobacco cigarettes can cause yellowing of teeth. E-cigarettes, however, do not cause this problem. They do not include the harmful chemicals that cause the discoloring.
When your mouth is sore, either from biting your lip or a serious mouth surgery, smoking tobacco cigarettes causes healing to become a longer, more prolonged process. E-cigarettes do not have the same effect on the healing process, which makes it easier to smoke after a surgery or injury.
Also, e-cigarettes are made from water vapor and nicotine, so the usual after-smell and taste that comes with a tobacco cigarette is completely diminished. E-cigarettes are also sold in flavors such as vanilla and mint, which leave a pleasant after-taste for you and those you are close to.
While we don’t encourage any of our patients or readers to start using e-cigarettes, we do believe it may be a smart way to slowly wean off of and eventually quit smoking. While it is still harmful to your mouth, research so far has shown that it does not seem to be as harmful as tobacco cigarettes. However, as we said before, time will be the true determinant for the e-cigarette.
If you have more questions on e-cigarettes and the effect they have on your teeth and mouth, contact Water Tower Dental today. We would be happy to answer all of your questions.