How do I get rid of stains on my teeth?

When I see a patient with a lot of black stain on their teeth at their cleaning visit, I usually ask about what they may be doing to cause their staining. Most report either smoking or tea drinking. Drinking tea is not bad for you but they can increase the amount of stain, both extrinsic and intrinsic that a person's teeth experience. Black teas, more than coffee appear to be the most likely to cause staining. Also, it is my impression that the stain is more severe on patients who have these habits, but are not highly motivated tooth brushers.

Thankfully, most of the stain my patients have is extrinsic and can be removed by cleaning their teeth. Stain that gets into small cracks or defective fillings can usually not be removed by simply cleaning their teeth. In the event that a patient wants the stain removed from a crack or a defective filling, then some operative dentistry may be in order. Small stained cracks can be slotted with a thin flame shaped diamond and then masked with a small amount of bonded filling material. Defective fillings can be replaced.