Yellow teeth

[sherryberry79]

Hello all,

Just wondered if any of you mummies and daddies have noticed your premmies milk teeth are tinged yellow?

For a while now I have thought that Millie's had a yellow tinge, but whenever I have mentioned it to my other half, or my mum etc the have dismissed it and told me that I am imagining it. Today I looked in her mouth to find the teeth were unmistakably yellow, so I turned to my old friend google. It became clear very soon that there IS a link between prematurity and yellow milk teeth. This can be for a number of reasons for example, intubation, TPN, prolonged ventilation, medications/antibiotics, and the smaller/earlier the baby, the more likely it is that yellow milk teeth will occur.


I know that in the grand scheme of things this is a teeny tiny cross to bear, but it bothers me that other people might judge me as a parent, on the basis of the colour of Millie's teeth.......when in fact we are very careful to make sure her teeth are cleaned every day, despite the fact that she has oral hypersensitivity, and we have to battle with her......it takes two of us and she screams the house down!!

The good news is that from what I have read, as long as the child does not need too many anti-biotics over the next 5-6 yrs, adult teeth should be unaffected.

 

[nkbapbt]

I have heard this before too. And that reflux can cause teeth yellowing and erosion.

I will say this...Lakai did have pretty yellow teeth when they first came in, he was vented for 71-72 days...had a lot of antibiotics for "suspected" infections (which he didn't have in the end). Now I will be the first to admit at 28 months actual was his first dentist appointment, and though he loves to brush his teeth we haven't been perfect with it either.

His teeth now? Not remotely yellow.

 

[sherryberry79]

Oh that's encouraging, maybe the colour of Millie's will improve then?
Last time I went to the dentist I took Millie with me, but she did not have ant teeth, she was all gums so he just (tried) to have a look in her mouth. I am due to go back shortly so I'll take her with me. Thanks for your reply

 

[toothfairyx]

I am a dentist - if you wanted me to have a look at a picture I can tell you what kind of stain it is? I would expect some kind of impact on their baby teeth but not the adult ones necessarily.

 

[sherryberry79]

Thanks toothfairy, I will see if madam will lel me het a snap of her peggies tomorrow! I am not sure how well you will be able to see them in a pic as they are really small.....which is another little concern. It's as if they are not fully decended, but that's another story, maybe you can have a glance at a pic, and advise me whether to bring our dentist appointment forward, or to stop panicing!

 

[toothfairyx]

No probs! Do your best might need 2 of you to get a shot but if you send me a pic I'll gladly have a look x

 

[AP]

So THATS why u r toothfairy!!!!!

Sherry ive heard about teeth yellowing too in preemies but never knew why.

 

[Marleysgirl]

Interesting. I can't say I've noticed Andrew's toothypegs being yellow, but we'll have to compare them next time we're together

We're really bad. We don't always clean his teeth, as it takes both of us and a good deal of upset all round. And because we (bad parents) don't go to dentists, we haven't taken Andrew to a dentist yet either.

 

[toothfairyx]

So THATS why u r toothfairy!!!!!

Sherry ive heard about teeth yellowing too in preemies but never knew why.

Yes I look into mouths for a living

 

[sherryberry79]

Hi toothfairy!

Sorry it has taken me sooo long to post these, but Millie has been poorly with a sickness bug, and we have been staying with my sister in the south for six days too! I did manage to get an appointment with my dentist, as I explained my concerns to the receptionist. He agreed that the teeth have come through with a yellow tinge, and he had never seen it before in a baby. He offered to refer Millie to the Manchester dental hospital but from what I've read online there is little that can be done. I was a bit cheeky ans asked him to google 'yellow milk teeth in premature infants' and if he comes to the same conclusion then we will not bother with the referral, but if he thinks there may be anything that could be done to improve the appearence of her teeth we will be referred! He also said that he will read up on the current reccommendations about giving extra flouride to infants, as he says they are always changing it and he wants to make sure he is giving us the right advice. I am lucky as he is such a nice man, I did not feel too uncomfortable asking him to do homework!!

His concern is that because of the colour of the teeth, the enalmel is probably not what it should be. I am going back in May for my 6month check-up so I will get his answers then. Just thogh I would post these pics anyway, to get your opinion, and maybe you're interested to see?!

https://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy357/sherryberry1979/Picture930.jpg

https://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy357/sherryberry1979/Picture929.jpg

 

[sherryberry79]

Oh dear, I don't think it really comes accross in the pics how stained they are....but I guess that's a good thing in many ways!

 

[toothfairyx]

Well done for getting such clear pictures! My thoughts are that this is due to bilirubin and that she was treated for jaundice in NICU? Its likely to be the same stuff that makes their skin yellow when they can't break down the bilirubin and gets deposited and incorporated in the developing teeth. The bad news is that you can't get rid of it, but the good news is that it is unlikely to affect the permanent teeth as they develop later.
It doesn't mean that the teeth will be weaker, although if there is also something called enamel hypoplasia that can weaken the enamel so would need careful brushing, diet a d close monitoring by the dentist.
HTH xx

 

[sherryberry79]

Thanks toothfairy!

You've hit the nail on the head there as Millie was long-term jaundice. Even after she was discharged from hospital more than four months after she was born she was still jaundice, so we were referred to St James's in Leeds for further investigation and liver checks. It did eventually settle down and her Bilirubin levels have been normal for some time now, but she WAS treated extensively for jaundice.....full marks to you! I am very impressed! Thanks for looking over the pics, it's nice to hear that her adult teeth should not be affected

 

[toothfairyx]

Ah that's interesting then as most of them are treated for jaundice, but I did wonder if she had longer issues with it. I can't remember at exactly what ages the adult teeth start developing but it could potentially be the case that if she was jaundiced for a while after her due date it could affect some of the teeth that were developing at around that time until the jaundice was corrected. If this is the case though, then whitening could be done to get rid of it I'm sure.

 

[Marleysgirl]

Cool photos, Sherry - was she falling asleep when you took them? We only get to see Andrew's teeth when he's laughing (normally upside-down).

It's an interesting conclusion, and fits with our experience - Andrew was only under the light lamps for jaundice for about 24 hours, so his was a very mild case. And his teeth are definitely whiter.

 

[sherryberry79]

I took the piccies whilst she was sleeping......I would not be able to get a look-in whilst she's awake!

Hopefully it will just be her milk-teeth that are affected, but as you say toothfairy, if her adult teeth are affected too then she will have more options about ways to treat it. Maybe she will be flashing a dazzling white mouth of vaneers hollywood styleeeee! We'll have to wait and see!

 

[toothfairyx]

She won't need veneers lol! But I think you could bleach this out fairly straightforward xx

 

[telysuma2833]

My daughter gave birth to identical twin girls 4 months early last January 2011. One of the twins teeth is yellow and the other is not. In fact it is a DARK yellow and very noticeable. They are on different formulas. The one with white teeth is on ENFAcare and the one with yellow teeth is on ELEcare for grastic problems and has a yellow tint already to the formula, so I am thinking it may be the formula that is causing theirs since they both had the same treatments with TPN, ventilators, etc while in the hospital. We are hoping this is just a temporary thing and that her adult teeth will come in whiter.