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WHY DO MY CHILD'S TEETH LOOK STAINED?

If your child's teeth look yellow or orange, it's most likely because they aren't being cleaned thoroughly and have developed a build-up of plaque that is stained with food debris. You can usually remove these stains by brushing the teeth with a little bit of adult toothpaste (which contains more scrubbing power than children's) or a little bit of baking soda and water. If this doesn't work, your dentist can remove the stains with a professional scrubbing. These stains are not necessarily an indication of tooth decay, but letting plaque accumulate on the teeth can cause gum disease (even in youngsters) and it's not a good habit to get into. If you're seeing dark stains on your toddler's teeth, it may be due to the iron in his multivitamin. If your child is the one in a thousand who is susceptible to this kind of stain, you'll have to be even more vigilant about brushing regularly and thoroughly to stay on top of it. Once these stains have taken root, they're very difficult to get off, even with a professional scrubbing from your dentist. However, they won't affect the health of your child's teeth even though you might not like the way they look. Baby teeth (usually one or two) can also become discolored if they're injured in a fall. This kind of stain is on the inside of the teeth and cannot be cleaned off. If your child has a chronic illness or recurrent high fevers or is exposed to certain medications or to excess fluoride over long periods during their infant or toddler years, it will probably not affect his baby teeth but can cause his adult teeth to grow in discolored.

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