5 year olds permanent teeth yellow?

[my3boys]

Hi, I am concerned about my 5 year olds permanent teeth. They are very yellow and even have a couple of white spots on them. He has the two lower middle already fully through. I brush regularly but we don't have fluoride here in Qld. I haven't added it to his drinks as I think it is a whole other debate (not to be debated here now!) Has any one elses children got this problem? Michele.

[nuddle]

the permanent teeth will always look yellow next to the baby teeth, that is normal, baby teeth are heaps whiter. The white spots could be anything developmental, that happened at the time that the tooth was developing, like he was sick at the time. If you are worried take him to the dentist, but it sounds normal to me.

[Olismum]

Hi, I had this when I was little. You need some kind of regular fluride to keep teeth from going yellow. The white marks are where the plaque has sat. Sometimes kids don't clean their teeth as well as they should. It takes at least 2 minutes of brushing with an electric toothbrush to get the best results. A good idea is to get the Plaque tablets from Woolies or the chemist so after they've brushed their teeth they can see where they have missed as the tablets will turn the missed plaque red, then they can keep brushing until all the red has gone. I got my teeth bleached when I was in approx yr 4 in primary school to get rid of the yellow teeth and the white marks.

[nuddle]

sorry, but lack of flouride does not make your teeth go yellow...:no:

[Olismum]

You do need fluride to strengthen the enamel on your teeth to stop the yellow staining & any erosion. The types of food and drink you consume make your teeth yellow and without fluride they are unable to be fully cleaned properly. I got this info from my own dentist only a week ago when asking about fluride for my own daughter so I believe that he is correct.

[Olismum]

Why would a dentist tell you to use fluride if it's not necessary? wouldn't that mean that no one has to use toothpaste?

[InSaneOne]

when i did my dental assisants course a few years ago we were all told that it is not necessary to use toothpaste if your brushing technique is good. it isn't the toothpaste that removes plaque it is the mechanical actions of the toothbrush. thats why it is important to clean each side of the tooth. we got into the habbit of using toothpaste mainly to make our breath smell better. (if you remove all the plaque properly then your breath wouldn't smell)

baby teeth are whiter than adult teeth. when he loses the rest of his baby teeth you won't even notice the difference in colour. the red plaque tablets are a good idea. they help to show what areas aren't being cleaned properly.

[nuddle]

I agree with the other two, as I too am a dental nurse, so not sure what your dentist was telling you, maybe you misunderstood him...

[Olismum]

Everyone is entitled to their opinions so I am going to stick to the advice of my dentist who is also a family friend. Theories and fads change all the time and no one on these forums is an expert. I would advise all parents to visit your own personal dentist to get an expert opinon and not rely on hearsay which is what other peoples opinions are on forums such as this.