Yellow Teeth and Tongue

[JohnDeere]

My son (5) has very yellow teeth and tongue even though he brushes twice a day.  We live in Israel, and the dentist will not see him until Thursday (He fell off his bike Saturday and his front teeth were moved 40 degrees back, along with lip and gum swelling.  The bleeding took about 6 hours to stop.  The Dr. who saw him said he was fine and take him to the dentist on Sunday, but he is not open until Thursday)  The pharmacist here said that Ibuprofen causes swelling.  I told him to give me some anyway and have been giving this to my son.  The main concern is the yellowing of his teeth and tongue.  It seems that it is just a thick layer of scum, but no matter how often he brushes it does not get any better.  We have even tried brushing his teeth for him to be sure that it was thourough.  Is there something else that we should be checking or concerned about?

[Jerome Bogin, D.D.S.]

If these are his permanent teeth then it might be the normal color of his teeth. Deciduous(baby teeth) are much whiter than permanent teeth. I would take him to a pedodontist for an exam.

[borninquisitive]

There are possibly two things that I associate with yellow tongue and that is either oral thrush or reflux (bile).

This does not mean that this is the case with your son but it wouldn't hurt for you to enquire if either *might* be the cause.

As for yellow teeth, most people do not have genuinely white teeth.