Swimmer's Teeth
The term swimmer's teeth or swimmer's calculus refers to a dark yellowish-brown color of teeth that is common among competitive swimmers. It is a direct result of the amount of time one spends in the pool, and most frequently appears on the front teeth. The discoloration of teeth is actually made of deposits similar to the natural tartar or plaque that builds overtime on everyone's teeth but is much darker and is not effectively removed by brushing.
Because pool water contains many chemical additives it has a higher pH than saliva and this causes the proteins in saliva to break downs creating the organic dark deposits on teeth. Swimmer's teeth is most common in teenagers who spend more than six hours a week in the pool. It has been estimated that as much as 58% of children who swim regularly in elementary school through high school experience this discoloration of the teeth.
There is good news though. While the frequency and/or quality of brushing is not proven to help the problem, it is completely removable by your dentist and the discoloration is not permanent. It is recommended that competitive swimmers or anyone who spends 6 or more hours a week swimming should visit their dentist regularly to keep the problem in check.
posted by San Diego Cosmetic Dentist @ 10:06 AM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
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Thank you for the post...my daughters has the buildup and prior to moving her dentist advised her to come in more regularly. We then moved to the DC area and her new hygienist told her she was a terrible brusher and she needed to work on it, I interrupted her and told her about "swimmer's teeth" the hygienist told us she had never heard of anything so ridiculous...I will be printing this and taking it in with us next time.
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