Many of our clients who don’t engage in common teeth-discoloring behaviors (tobacco use, drinking coffee, colas, red wines, and other chromogenic foods and beverages) wonder why their teeth have become discolored. For many, it is not a matter of poor dental hygiene, aging, environment, or dental trauma. Patients who find themselves in this situation are often unaware that tooth discoloration (along with other dental problems) can often result from seemingly unrelated diseases, medications, and other treatments.
Decreased salivary output can inhibit the physical removal of food debris and plaque, therefore contributing to discoloration. This may be caused by local disease (salivary obstructions and infections), systemic disease (Sjögren syndrome), head and neck radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.
Systemic postnatal infections such as measles, chicken pox, streptococcal infections, and scarlet fever can also cause discoloration. Diseases such as these can cause irregularities in the thickness of the enamel layer. In rare cases, maternal rubella, cytomegalovirus infection, and toxemia of pregnancy can lead to tooth discoloration.
Common antibiotics such as
tetracycline and doxycycline are known to discolor developing teeth. Minocycline can discolor teeth during and after enamel development. Various other medications such as
anticholinergics,
antihypertensives,
antipsychotics, and
antihistamines may cause varying degrees of discoloration as well.
Sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN), biliary atresia, and other rare pediatric diseases can cause discoloration. These diseases have the potential to cause hyperbilirubinemia, which produces a jaundice-like yellow-green tint on tooth surfaces.
A number of other hereditary diseases can affect oral health. For more information about these and other medications and diseases that may be affecting your teeth, please
contact Dr. Michael Iott & Associates today.
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