Stained Teeth
Berkeley Parents Network >
Advice >
Advice about Health >
Stained Teeth
March 2008
Our 7 month old has two teeth and they look like they have carrot mush stuck to them.
The teeth are not completely orange but just in one area. I have tried cleaning his
teeth
but it does not come off. He has had the teeth for about a month now and the orange
is not going away. It was on the teeth even as they emerged from the gum. It is not
something that appeared on the teeth after they came in. Does anyone have any idea
what this could be?
Jillian
Take my guess with a grain of salt, since I have no training or
experience with this. But the only thing I might think about is
medications that you took when you were pregnant, especially
antibiotics. Some antibiotics are not supposed to be taken when
you're pregnant, precisely because they can cause tooth
discoloration. I only know this because there was a specific
antibiotic that my doctor wanted me to take, but wanted to make
sure I wasn't pregnant yet, nor would I get preg while on the
medication. Also, I have a friend whose teeth were not orange,
but greenish, apparently because back in the 1950s the medical
world didn't know this yet.
I thought I heard that this could happen if the child has a very
high fever while the teeth were being formed.
Don't worry, they'll get their adult teeth before long. And f
it really bothers you, I think the dentist can put an amalgam on
that may not be the exact color of the teeeth, but it is way
less oragne.
anon
This sounds like what my son had on his teeth around 4 years of
age...cheeto-orange like spots, right after a course of
antibiotics. Has your baby had antibiotics recently, i.e. fairly
recently before the teeth came in? A simple cleaning took my
son's orange spots off, so check with a pediatric dentist. Dr.
Carole Miyahara is ours (on Colby & also Ensenada), she's
fantastics with little children.
anon
Nov 2004
My 18 month old son has been taking a liquid iron supplement for
a few months. His front teeth seem to be stained, which I know
can happen. I brush his teeth regularly (as good as possible
with a squirmy toddler) but it doesn't seem to help. I would
obviously rather him have stained teeth than anemia (changing
his diet didn't help which is why we give him the supplement),
but the stains worry me. What if they aren't stains and the
teeth are starting to rot? How can you tell the difference? He
does not nurse or have a bottle at night. Just usually some sips
of milk from a sippy cup right before sleep. Does anyone have
experience with this?
Thanks!
anon
My son also had this problem when we were giving him vitamin
supplements with iron. I did a little research online and also
confirmed with his doctor. The staining is due to the iron and
is harmless. I know it looks horrible though and I also
wondered if his teeth were rotting or getting cavities but that
was not the case. I used a little baking soda on the tip of my
finger and was able to rub the stains off rather easily. Hope
that helps.
Susan
My son took iron supplements and his teeth were also stained as
a result. When he went in for his first tooth cleaning (which
I'm thinking was at 3 years old?), the stains came right off.
I can't tell you how you differentiate the staining from the
rot, but you mentioned in your post that he drinks sips of milk
right before sleep. It's really important to brush his teeth
after he drinks that last milk. Even small amounts of milk can
cause decay if they are not brushed off before bedtime. And if
you positively can't get him to brush after his milk sips, then
insist that he at least rinse with water. You need to get that
milk out of there before sleepytime.
Anon
My son was also on an iron supplement and had stained teeth (not
to mention our clothes). His dentist was able to polish off the
stains on either the first or second visit (around age 2?).
Tracy
My son is now four and his teeth are still stained from the
iron drops he took for only 2-3 months when he was one. You
can even see a line on his teeth where the teeth grew out white
after we stopped the drops. Have your child's iron checked -
you may not need to continue the iron and diet may take over
now. My son's doctor and his pediatric dentist have told me
that some teeth are just more suseptible to staining. It is
good to start brushing, but you most likely won't be able to
reverse it. Since my son's teeth are already getting cavities,
and the enamel seems soft, the dentist (just today in fact!)
coated the two front teeth with a protective compound that also
makes them look better (though still not perfect.) Next month
we get to address some back teeth. I wish you luck. The iron
staining looks really bad, but I doubt what you see is tooth
decay. Once you are ready to take your child to the dentist,
they can determine if he is likely to be prone to cavities from
soft enamel. I was also told that the adult teeth can be very
different.
Dentally challenged mama with equally challenged son
Sept 2003
My two-year old, who brushes (with our assistance) daily has
deeloped a black-line stain on many of her teeth. We took her to
the dentist about a month ago, who told us the stain was
harmless (maybe some sort of bacterial strain?) but there is
really no good way to get rid of it right now.
Has anyone else experienced this? We got some special tooth
polish from the dentist, which didn't do anything. We're
thankful she is cavity-free, but would love to get rid of the
stain, or at least keep it from spreading.
My daughter also had these black stains on her teeth at 2 years
old. We thought it was decay so took her to the dentist and they
polished them off. However, we were told that they would
probably come back, which they did. So, every 6 months she goes
in for cleaning. After two visits for cleaning, the black stains
stopped coming back. Apparently the stains are harmless and that
some kids develop these stains due to something in their saliva.
I was told by the dentist that this is quite common.
According to our dentist there is no way that you can get the
stains off yourself. However, the dental office can polish the
stains off. I think they used a special kind of polish on my
daughter. She is now 4 and stain free but still sees her dentist
every 6 months for cleaning. Our dentist is Dr. Katsura. There
are tons of recommendations on the network for his office.
Everyone there is great!
Janet
I have heard of darkening of gums, but not teeth, from mercury toxicity.
The heavy metal that competes with calcium is lead. Any possibility these
are in your
child's life somehow? You may wish to ensure your child is getting
minerals and vitamin D3 in the adequate and balanced amounts in the diet.
a mom
My oldest had the same problem. Our dentist recommended using an
electric toothbrush. It worked.
m
this page was last updated: Jan 3, 2009
The opinions and statements expressed on this website
are those of parents who subscribe to the
Berkeley Parents Network.
Please see
Disclaimer & Usage for
information about using content on this website.
Copyright © 1996-2013 Berkeley Parents Network