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jinx333 | May 08, 2009 12:38 PM | in Dental | about Tooth Decay

I have a dark line along the base of one of my molars, it looks similar to the description of a crowned tooth, but it's not a crowned tooth.

The description I'm referring to is, "Have you ever seen a friend or co-worker smile and noticed a dark lines along the gum line of their teeth. Maybe you have this problem yourself. These dark lines are created by porcelain fused to metal crowns. The dark line is actually a shadow created by the metal under the porcelain. As light hits the crown it is unable to penetrate the metal and the dark line appears along the gum line. When first placed, the crown margins are usually placed just below the gum line so the dark shadow is not visible. Over time, however, the gum line will recede and the dark shadow is exposed and becomes visible and unsightly."

This sounds exactly like the problem I have, except I don't have a metal crown on this tooth, and it's only on ONE tooth, I don't see it on any of my teeth.

I'm very confused because I have impeccable dental hygiene, I brush, floss and rinse religiously and avoid snacking and sugary foods like the plague.

Help!

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tracebooks | May 08, 2009 02:21 PM

It could be staining from tetracyclene, if your mother took it while pregnant with you:

http://www.drdonley.com/teeth/severe_tetracycline_antibiotic_staining2.jpg

And another:

http://emdentalgroup.com/db4/00350/emdentalgroup.com/_uimages/TetracyclineStain.bmp

The article below explains why this happens. My own brother has this problem:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15485524

Staining is not necessarily on every tooth, or more than one or two. It just depends on what teeth were developing when the medicine was taken either by you or your mother when she was pregnant with you. My brother had staining on two of his baby teeth and two of his adult teeth.

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