Calling dental professionals!

[sublime311]

Over the last year, I've noticed dark stains between my front teeth (top and bottom, but mostly the bottom). At my last cleaning, the hygenist noticed the stains and tried scraping the stains off, but that didn't work. She said she couldn't figure out what it was. I do not drink coffee, smoke, or do (non-RX) drugs. Anyway, just the other day I had a theory that the stains may have something to do with my long term use of Proventil (generic is albuterol) which is a rescue inhaler for asthma. So... I looked up the side-effects and found that tooth discoloration is a definite side-effect. Also, I realized that I have been using my inhaler before bed - after brushing my teeth. I do drink some water afterwards thinking that that is enough of a "rinse", but I wonder if this is why I'm getting these stains.

Background: I have not had health insurance for nearly a year so I haven't been able (financially) to refill my steroid inhaler (the long-term solution to asthma), instead I've been using my rescue inhaler (albuterol) up to several times a day.

Finally, my questions:

1. Any idea why it would only effect the areas between my teeth? The front of my teeth are uneffected. Could it be that the inhaled solution counteracts with tarter?

2. Is this permenant damage I've done? Can I do anything to reverse the damage?

3. Are there any cosmetic solutions I should consider?

4. Is there anything else that could cause this?? The stains are dark brown and mostly look like a shadow (not cavities) until you see them up close.

TIA!!!

[MarriedaGoalie]

They could be calcium buildups. I don't know if they look differently on different people, but I have white spots on the front of my teeth that are calcium buildups. Basically, there is nothing that the dentists can typically do about it except whiten your teeth and make the colors match better. As far as I know, it's not harmful to you, so I wouldn't worry about it... if that is what it is, anyways.... :confused:

[CarolinaGirl]

As a dental hygienist I've never heard of an inhaler causing staining. If you are not flossing regularly that could be why it is only between your teeth. If it is adhering to the tartar, then the hygienist should have been able to scrape it off. It may be stain that has penetrated the tooth structure. If so, it should be able to be corrected by bleaching. You can have professional bleaching done by your dentist or you can get a milder bleaching solution OTC such as crest whitestrips. If that dosen't work, have your dentist evaluate it. It's possible that it could be the beginnings of a cavity. My DH is a dentist so I will ask him about the inhaler causing tooth discoloration.

[sublime311]

As a dental hygienist I've never heard of an inhaler causing staining. If you are not flossing regularly that could be why it is only between your teeth. If it is adhering to the tartar, then the hygienist should have been able to scrape it off. It may be stain that has penetrated the tooth structure. If so, it should be able to be corrected by bleaching. You can have professional bleaching done by your dentist or you can get a milder bleaching solution OTC such as crest whitestrips. If that dosen't work, have your dentist evaluate it. It's possible that it could be the beginnings of a cavity. My DH is a dentist so I will ask him about the inhaler causing tooth discoloration.
I'm bad about being consistant with flossing - I'll go two weeks or so where I do it religiously, then I go back to every other day when I'm feeling lazy.

Because the stain is between more than one tooth I really do not think these are cavities. The hygienist could not get the stains off by scraping and she didn't know what they were so that's another reason I ruled out the cavity theory. Most people use a rescue inhaler in emergencies only (like once a week or once a month even), but I've been using it several times a day out of neccessity because I'm not on a steroid. I'm definitely over using it, but I don't have a choice right now.

I would love to hear what your DH says.

Thank you both for your input!

[CarolinaGirl]

Okay, I did ask DH. He's never heard of an inhaler causing discoloration. He thinks that since it is only in between your teeth that it is probably a flossing issue. I'd probably try the bleaching and see if that takes care of it. I'll see if I can find out more about the proventil and tooth discoloration in the mean time. :)

[sublime311]

Okay, I did ask DH. He's never heard of an inhaler causing discoloration. He thinks that since it is only in between your teeth that it is probably a flossing issue. I'd probably try the bleaching and see if that takes care of it. I'll see if I can find out more about the proventil and tooth discoloration in the mean time. :)
Ok, now this may be another weird tangent, but what about residue from my floss? I use Glide floss. Possible??

Honestly, I don't think it's from lack of flossing - I've experienced that, too and it's more (ew) yellowish and definitely scrapes right off during cleanings. This is a dark brown and is between my teeth and does not scrape off.

[CarolinaGirl]

No, flossing definitely would not cause any staining. The yellowish stuff that they scrape off during cleanings is calculus (tartar), but you can get stain that is brown there too that would accumulate from lack of flossing regularly. It usually comes from drinking coffee, tea, red wine, smoking, etc. I'd have to see it to get a better picture of what it might be, but floss would definitely not cause it. This is more technical, but let me see if I can describe it right. It may be exogenous intrinsic stain - it comes from outside the body (coffee, tea, etc...) and works it's way into the tooth. It cannot be scraped off. It would respond to bleaching. Another type of stain is indogenous intrinsic from something that you ingested during the time the teeth were developing. This would not respond to bleaching. If it is only in between your teeth then it is probably the type that would respond to bleaching. The only other thing that I can think of would be "demineralization" where a cavity would have been in the beginning stages but stopped and remineralized from flouride. Still, I'd have to actually see it to know, but I'd try bleaching to see if it helps.