A dentist has explained what causes ‘black triangles’ to appear between your teeth and shared how to care for them.
Anna Peterson, from Essex, regularly shares her expert dental advice on TikTok under the handle @annapetersondental. In one recent post she explained the cause of ‘black triangles’ and how to prevent them. You can see the video here:
In a caption to the clip, Anna explained that ‘black triangles are not always caused from poor cleaning and sometimes black triangles are a sign that inflammation has reduced following periodontal treatment - which is a good thing’.
Kicking off the clip, Anna shared a photo of a smile with ‘black triangles’ showing between four of the bottom teeth in a row.
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“It’s actually just space between the teeth and the gum,” Anna explained.
“It’s usually caused because the gum has receded up the tooth, because the teeth are triangular shaped, at the neck of the tooth we do have a bit of space and usually the gum will fill that space.” At this point Anna showed off her gleaming pearly whites, with not a black triangle in sight.
She went on: “But if you don’t clean in between your teeth at least once a day then the gum can recede up the tooth.”
Sharing how to prevent that from happening, she added: “There are lots of different things you can use to clean between your teeth, like interdental brushes, a water flosser or just normal string floss.
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“But I would highly recommend you use interdental brushes because they are clinically the most effective way of removing plaque bacteria.
“If you find that you really can't get them between, then speak to your dentist professional and get them to check whether they can fit any size between and if not then just use floss or a water flosser.
“And that's how to prevent getting black triangles between your teeth.”
Anna’s followers took to the comment section to thank her for the tip, while others asked for advice.
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One follower asked what was the best way to combat ‘black triangles’ that had already appeared to which she replied: “Composite bonding is a great way to mask the black triangles.”
She also said that surgery can be used to help treat gums that have receded such as the one in the photo she shared.
Responding to someone else who said interdental brushing was ‘painful’, Anna said: “The metal shouldn’t be painful against your teeth, sounds like you’re placing it too high up.”
Claire Reid