How Does Tobacco Impact Your Teeth?
Most people know that tobacco is bad for your health, but it’s also a major cause of dental problems. We have seen limited progress in reducing the use of it, but it is still a widespread concern.
How Does Tobacco Affect Your Oral Health?
- Smoking is significantly linked with gum or periodontal disease, and inflammation in your mouth. Inflammation causing gum disease can affect the bone, and in its advanced stages, it can result in decay and tooth loss. If you use tobacco or smoke, quitting will help your gums heal. Unfortunately, many don’t quit until they have lost several teeth.
- It can permanently stain your teeth that can’t be whitened.
- Cigarettes cause bad breath, cause oral cancer and a host of other health issues, such as lung cancer.
- It can weaken your sense of taste and smell. Nicotine causes the nerves in your brain that are associated with your sense of taste and smell to malfunction.
- The use of it can hinder your immune system, and reduce your body’s ability to recover after surgery. This is an overall health issue that also presents a challenge when needing restorative dentistry.
Tobacco, Smoking and Oral Cancer
- Tobacco and smoking increase the risk factors for developing oral cancer along with many other types of cancer. Cigarettes and other tobacco products such as chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, cigars, and snuff, contain toxins that are poisonous cancer-causing carcinogens and nicotine, which is a highly addictive substance.
- Smokers are 10 times more likely to get oral cancer compared to non-smokers.
Vaping and Smokeless Tobacco
- Smokeless tobacco such as snuff, chewing tobacco and dip can lead to a higher incidence of oral cancer.
- Smokeless products contains over 28 cancer-causing chemicals, which can cause gum disease.
- It usually contains sand, which wears down teeth due to its abrasive qualities. This also contributes to erosion of the enamel and tooth sensitivity.
- Smokeless tobacco users that use tobacco every day typically have oral lesions.
- Vaping has many of the same negative side effects as smoking. The use of nicotine in the vaping product intensifies the symptoms. Restricted blood flow from nicotine contributes to dry mouth and the inability to fight off bacteria that ultimately causes gum disease and tooth loss.
- Aerosols in the vaping oils increase gum inflammation and inflammation throughout your body.
- Added sugars used in e-cigarettes increase the risk for tooth decay.
If You Use These Products, Now is the Time to Quit
If you value your oral health and your overall health, now might be the time to quit. Nicotine is highly addictive, so you might have to try more than once before you can finally kick it!
The American Cancer Society offers the following reasons to quit using tobacco products
- You will live a longer and healthier life.
- You will lower your chance of having a heart attack, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, stroke, or cancer.
- Food will taste better.
- Your home, car, clothing, and breath will smell better.
- You will have more physical stamina.
- You will have less wrinkling/aging of skin.
- It will give you a reason to smile.
Make a Dental Appointment
If you use tobacco products of any kind, make an appointment with Dr. Angela S. Evanson, DDS for a thorough oral checkup of your mouth, gums, teeth, and throat. Call 720-409-0008, or contact us online. Early detection plays an important role in preventing major problems of any kind. Let this be your first step toward quitting tobacco forever!
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