Many of us have the habit of brushing with excessive force in attempt to have very white set of teeth, here’s the shocking news: You only end up making your teeth yellower. There’s a couple of things that can cause yellow set of dentition, like stains and plaques. Good and efficient tooth brushing techniques helps remove stains and prevent dental plaque formation thereby giving you a whiter smile, but the use of excessive force will remove the white part of your teeth in addition to removal of stains and plaques.

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As seen in the picture above, the teeth has several layers, the outermost layer called the enamel is white and it covers an inner layer immediately beneath it which is called the dentin, as you brush with force, you erode and brush off the enamel and as the thickness of the enamel reduces, the Dentin below it becomes more visible and can be seen through the surface of your teeth(enamel) and as the dentin is yellow, your teeth begins to appear yellower.

How do you know your brushing too hard. Whenever you are not brushing gently, there’s a chance you’re brushing to hard. A quick tip is if your tooth brush looks like this.

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Then you need to be more gentle with your teeth. Your tooth brush shouldn’t look like something that has been used to wash car tyres.

Another thing that can cause yellower teeth is the use of hard toothbrushes. This can also cause bleeding gum and gingival recession, where you have the part of your teeth that is meant to be covered by the gums being exposed beacuse the gums have receded.

So get a soft or medium toothbrush, throw away your toothbrushes and take it lightly with your teeth when you brush.