Retain Teeth and Lip Color

Smoking can discolor the teeth and lip color. A shift in lifestyle and dental hygiene can prevent this condition. Seek medical advise if abnormality in discoloration occurs.

Symptoms
Other symptoms and side effects of smoking are copious amount of tar deposits, tooth stains, tooth decay, bad breath, delayed healing of gum injuries, and inflammation of the roof of the mouth.

Causes
Smoking hinders the flow of saliva that cleans the lining of the mouth and teeth and protects it from further decay. It also reduces blood flow to the gum and cut off supply of vitamin C which makes the gums healthy. Other than that, it also raises the mouth’s temperature, destroying oral tissue cells in the process.

Other conditions that cause discoloration of the teeth are enamel and dentin-related diseases; head and neck chemotherapy and radiation; usage of mouth washes that contains chlorhexidine and cetylpyridinium; taking antihistamine, antipsychotic, and antihypertensive medications; and high fluoride consumption from tap water, toothpastes, mouth rinses, and supplements.

Home Remedies
Reduce intake of coffee and quit smoking.

Improve dental hygiene by brushing and flossing the teeth regularly. Having a complete dental cleansing by a professional dentist every 6 months are also advisable.

Avoid food and beverages that contain too much food coloring for it leave stains on the teeth.

Avoid using over-the-counter whitening products.

Drink at least 10 glasses of water everyday to eliminate the toxins from the body.

Apply Vaseline on the lips regularly to lighten the discoloration of the lips.

Moisturize lips by applying little amount of clarified butter every night.

Apply lemon juice on the lips everyday. It is a natural bleaching agent that helps lighten lips with regular application.

For women, wear lipstick that contains sunscreen ingredients. Excessive exposure of UV rays from the sun can cause lip pigmentation.

Diets
Avoid foods that will leave tooth decay. These include foods that are rich in carbohydrates and sugar. Sugar takes on many forms such as sucrose (table sugar), levulose and dextrose (honey), fructose (fruit), and lactose (milk).