Say Cheese! Posted On Friday, June 15, 2007

Coffee addicts, tea-freaks and smokers have one thing in common- the risk of staining their teeth. Any food or drink that has pigments in it stains human teeth and sadly pigment-laden beverages like tea and coffee form a big part of a Mumbaikar’s daily diet. Coffee beans in particular have a strong dark brown colour that stains the upper front teeth. A less known fact is that even tea and red wine tend to stain the front teeth if consumed very often. Cosmetic Dentist Dr Neil Abreo, who runs a clinic at Sitla Devi says, “Food that has artificial colour in it, like most restaurant food, stains the teeth gradually. Even heavy smokers are at a high risk of developing tooth stains that become darker with time. It’s best to drink coffee in a short period of time rather than mooning over a single cup for long, because the latter just allows for colouring agents with more time to sink deeper into your teeth. Also, drink green tea instead of black tea as it tends to stain less. General tips like brushing twice a day, flossing and not drinking more than five cups of tea or coffee per day are also ways to prevent the staining of teeth.” Gavin Fernandez, who had his teeth polished last month says, “I had ugly yellow stains on my front teeth due to heavy smoking. Polishing has helped restore the original colour of my teeth.” Shweta Lobo, who got her teeth bleached recently says, “Coffee had turned my teeth into a deep shade of yellow. Other than treating my teeth with dental bleach, my dentist also gave me some valuable tips.” Why target chai-kaffee when soft drinks are equally bad? These drinks serve to erode tooth enamel thus increasing the susceptibility of teeth to staining. Laser and cosmetic dentist, Dr Sanjay Shah says, “Any acidic cola is bad for your teeth in the long run, as it dissolves the tooth enamel. As far as stain removal goes, recurrence of stains is very high for smokers and chewers of pan ghutka, so bleaching has to be re-done annually. Drinking colas with a straw, and rinsing one’s mouth after drinking any of these drinks will help to prevent staining. Surprisingly brushing too hard, can also cause the enamel to wear off." Some solutions for your stained teeth offered by cosmetic dentists in the city For MILD STAINS- Scaling and polishing It includes removal of superficial surface stains, caused due to coffee, tea and smoking. Time Taken Nicotine stains require two sittings and each sitting spans for 20-30 minutes.Removal of just the gross outer stains takes one sitting but if finer stains have to be dealt with then at least two sittings are required. Price Rs 300 to Rs 1,000 For MEDIUM STAINS - Bleaching/Dental Whitening Heavy smokers can get their teeth bleached. The procedure starts with ‘office bleach’ that the dentist performs in the clinic as the chemicals used are strong. This is followed up by ‘home bleach’ where the patient is required to use a custom-made tray with milder gel, at home Time Taken Each sitting takes half an hour to one hour and the number of sittings depends on the severity of the stains Risks Bleaching tends to increase tooth sensitivity and also tends to dehydrate the teeth. Even during the course of treatment and two weeks after treatment stain absorption increases. So as a precaution, people are asked to avoid tea,coffee,colas and artificially coloured food for two weeks after bleaching. Price Rs 3,000- Rs 10,000 For SEVERE STAINS - Tooth Lamination/Crowning Teeth with extremely brown stains are treated with the help of porcelain veneers or crowns that cloak the tooth completely Time taken one to two sittings Price Rs 5,000- Rs 10,000 (Prices vary depending on the area where the dentist is located and the brand of the stain removing products and equipment used)

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