Mouth Health

Sometimes, our teeth become interesting colors, and you might see some colors that look like stains. They’re not yellow though, but instead a gray or a bluish color.

You might wonder why your teeth are looking a little gray or blue. Here, we’ll discuss the causes, and what to do if you do have this happen to you.

The tooth Color that’s naturally There. 

Yes, this is actually a tooth color that’s natural for some people. Well, natural for those with dentinogenesis imperfecta. This impacts the appearance and the structure of the tooth, creating either a yellow-born or a blue gray color, and they might be a little bit weaker than what you’re used to. 

Another reason is that you have opalescent dentin, and this is a mutation of the genes that causes your dentin to be defective. If you do have this, talk to a dentist for the correct evaluation. 

This is a rare condition, so if you don’t have it, it’s because of other causes. 

You had Exposures  to Antibiotics 

If you were exposed to antibiotics within the womb, or even when you were really young as a kid, this can cause discoloration within your teeth as an adult. 

It usually creates stains that are a blue gray that’s pretty deep, or it’ll cause a yellowish-brown stain. This is usually in a striped horizontal pattern. While this is permanent, and most brushing won’t change this, you can get whitening to aid you with this problem. Talking to a dentist might help you find the correct treatments for your needs. 

You had dental restorations. 

If you had any sort of filling that’s silver such as an amalgam, that might be the reason why you have blue-gray teeth. This is because the material, which along with acrylic, a glass isomer, porcelain, along with metal crowns, cause this sort of blue-gray within the teeth. This is also because of the color that’s showing through a surface that’s porcelain or translucent in terms of surfaces. 

If it’s due to fillings that are silver, the solution is to replace those with an amalgam that’s white. 

Your teeth are dead. 

If you notice that only one of the teeth is blue or gray, it’s because this died. This is something that you might not realize.

You probably think that all of our teeth are technically dead, but the thing is, the nerves and the pulp keep this alive. 

If you had some trauma, or an infection that created damage, the pulp along with the nerves might die, and usually, the tooth then turns a gray, a dark pink, or even a black.

If you think you have a tooth that’s dead, talk to a dentist immediately. You need to treat this because bacteria will enter the dead parts near the tooth center, creating an abscess. If you need to get rid of a tooth through extraction, they may do that.  They also might try a root canal in order to save the teeth.

If it is dead, a dentist will be able to take the correct steps as needed to help with this.

Having a blue or gray tooth is not necessarily normal, and there are sometimes some causes for alarm. Not every cause is bad though, and if you’re not sure, talk to a dentist today and see if they can help you not only determine the exact cause of your tooth, but also the best treatment possible so that the tooth is properly taken care of, and you can have a better smile.