As a Dental Assistant here at Cascadia Dentistry we come
across a variety of common questions. A
recent question brought up by one of our assistants was:
Why
do my child's teeth appear so yellow?
This is a very common questions for I also had the same
questions about my own daughter when her adult were coming in.
Assuming the child has
not injured their teeth; in most cases it is normal for the permanent teeth to
look darker or yellow. It's actually considered to be an optical illusion! The
baby teeth are actually nick-named "milk-teeth" because of their
bright, white color. When permanent teeth come in next to them, it gives them
the appearance of being very yellow. Our permanent teeth have thicker layers of
underlying dentin (layer of tooth beneath the outer enamel) which naturally has
hues of yellow, red, or grey.
Above all, remember to check with us so that we can perform a thorough
exam and definitively rule out trauma, infection, and developmental
disturbances in the tooth's formation.Patrick
Lead Dental Assistant