Why can’t we just spend however long it takes to brush our teeth over and over again until they’re as clean and white as they were when we first got them? (Like dentist office billboard advertisement levels of white teeth)

Question

Or is restoring a former brilliance of your teeth impossible through normal dental hygiene practices without cosmetic dentistry?

In: Biology

Answer 1

ELI5: That only works for surface stains. Sometimes the stains are on the inside, too. Scrubbing deep will only reveal more yellow.

You can see this when people get teeth filed down to small nubs before crowns are put on top. Sometimes the teeth are yellow deep inside. It can be from genetics, past medicines, environment, or what have you.