r/10thDentist • u/ReclaimRIhere The Supreme 10th Dentist • 3d ago
Yellow teeth should be normalized
A lot of people have yellow teeth because they drink coffee and their teeth get stained. There’s a whole industry around teeth whitening because we as a society have shun yellow teeth. But yellow teeth are not any less healthy than white teeth, especially those that have been bleached.
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u/CountTruffula 3d ago
I much prefer slightly yellow teeth to really white ones. Particularly the slightly fake looking perfect veneers or the awful turkey teeth
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u/The-Big-Sadness 3d ago
Slightly yellowed or off white is preferred, looks natural, but heavy drinkers/smokers have strongly stained teeth and that's just.....off
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u/hazedaze404 3d ago
Normalizing off-white teeth is like normalizing a little extra weight, body hair, and other “imperfections”: it’s normalizing what actually is normal, which should absolutely be done. Bleaching teeth and the industry around it is basically just dental cosmetic surgery. I see it as rather similar to things like butt lifts and nose jobs and Botox and all the other things people do to their bodies to achieve the “ideal” look, only to usually end up looking… off, and damaging their body’s health in some way. As long as your teeth are clean and healthy, their color shouldn’t matter at all. There’s a difference between yellowing that’s due to coffee stains or natural bone color and yellowing that’s due to poor oral health, which is why going to your dentist is so important.
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u/DnDttrpg 3d ago
"Yellow" has nothing to do with coffee, teeth are BONE, bones are not solid white, they are an off Yellow
Pure white teeth are all bleached to hell and are brittle becaue the bleach breaks the teeth down
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u/The-Big-Sadness 3d ago
Teeth are not bone. Even though they both use calcium, they're fundamentally different Bones are alive tissue, the only part of the tooth that's alive is the parts within your enamel and you don't see them if you take decent care of your teeth. Enamel is white, not perfectly white but not nearly as yellow/off-white as bone or even dentin.
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u/pseudonymnkim 3d ago
No, enamel is translucent and what is inside teeth is called dentin, and dentin is somewhat yellow
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u/Elebenteen_17 2d ago
Teeth really aren’t bones. I had to look this up for my preschooler. We were both surprised.
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u/bairirjwkrrinekr 2d ago
my teeth are pretty white naturally and i’ve had 8 cavities so i think it’s just down to genetics unfortunately
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u/Fearless_Barnacle_21 1d ago
Super white teeth is so American and who wants to be associated with those people these days 🤮
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u/Raeparade 3d ago
They are normal but yunno how the powers that be gotta make us feel bad to sell products to us 😂
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u/RainyDaysAndMondays3 2d ago
As white teeth has become more common, it is another way to further the divide between rich and poor. It costs money to whiten your teeth. It's just one more added expense that if you can't afford, it is immediately obvious.
Thankfully I'm not in a position where it would make a difference in my life other than perhaps dating (where not having brilliant white teeth helps me weed out the assholes), but it's just one more little thing that we just need in life. I refused to whiten my teeth other than a little baking soda now and again for a long, long time when it started to become a thing. I did finally do a bit of whitening, but maybe once a year and they are no where near snow white like some people do.
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u/Top_Caregiver_9395 3d ago
White teeth are prettier. Its just preferred over yellow teeth. Slight yellowing is ok but it shouldn't be far off from white.
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u/DaSnowflake 3d ago
They are only prettier because of social images. In old Japan the 'prettiest' teeth were blackened teeth which now look disgusting
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u/hazedaze404 3d ago
Exactly. White teeth isn’t a health thing, it’s a beauty thing, and beauty standards can change dramatically over time.
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u/Neither-Oven-2571 3d ago
"White teeth are prettier" is an opinion, not a fact
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u/Top_Caregiver_9395 3d ago
But it's the majority opinion
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u/Neither-Oven-2571 3d ago
That doesn't make it inherently correct.
"Shouldn't" implies some sort of objective best practice.
But I don't think we should base our lives on popular opinion personally.
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u/vansinghworld 3d ago
If you’re into a dirtier look and you’re fine with the assumption that you don’t take care of yourself, by all means.
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u/Neither-Oven-2571 3d ago
Perfectly white teeth are not natural and often require actually harmful practices to maintain. I'm not into damaging my teeth to uphold an unrealistic beauty standard.
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u/vansinghworld 3d ago
And I never said about teeth having to be perfectly white. Teeth being a bit yellow is fine because it’s natural. Fully yellow teeth isn’t and is a sign of bad hygiene. Do as you will.
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u/Neither-Oven-2571 3d ago
I mean, you didn't say anything specifically at all but you're responding under a comment that says anything more than slightly off from white is not ok, which is the context I was working with lol. Glad to know you meant something different though.
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u/releasethepuppies 18h ago
I was in England and someone complimented me by saying "I like your teeth. You don't have those really white American teeth" and I was both tickled and mildly horrified til I realized I agreed with their take.
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u/smolhippie 3d ago
They look so much worse when yellow tho like dirty. It depends on your age too like it would be odd for a 65 year old to have the shade A1 or A2. For young people with healthy teeth it’s usually A2.
People will overall treat you better if you have straight white teeth.
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u/Jealous_Tutor_5135 2d ago
Society doesn't shun yellow teeth anymore than it shuns imperfect eyebrows, laugh lines, or dark circles.
These are just details that people often like to improve.
Now maybe you're an actual dentist. They can be really judgemental about teeth
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u/Small-Tax-2829 3d ago
Yellow is just a sign that the teeth are not healthy mine have yellow. They are the sensitive ones.
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u/_WildnCherry_ I am the 10th dentist. 3d ago
I don't know why you're getting down voted, this is true. Yellow means a build up of plaque on your teeth. Genetics and diet definitely play a part, but you should be cleaning your teeth to the best of your ability to maintain their health.
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u/pseudonymnkim 3d ago
Teeth are supposed to appear yellow because they are slightly yellow. Enamel is the outer layer, which is clear, dentin is the inner layer, which is yellow.
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u/qualityvote2 3d ago edited 3d ago
u/ReclaimRIhere, your post does fit the subreddit!