How can smoking affect my oral health?
The majority of people are now aware that smoking is harmful to their health. It can cause a wide range of medical issues, including fatal diseases in some cases. However, many people are unaware of the harm that smoking causes to their mouth, gums, and teeth.
Smoking leads many to Oral Health problems, including:
Discolored teeth
Salivary gland openings on the roof of the mouth are inflamed.
Increased plaque and tartar buildup on teeth, which can lead to gum disease and bone loss in the jaw.
White patches inside the mouth are more likely to appear.
Healing time after tooth extraction, periodontal treatment, or oral surgery is prolonged.
Dental procedures are less likely to succeed.
Increased risk of developing precancerous lesions or even cancer
Why do teeth get discoloured/stained?
The nicotine and tar in tobacco cause tooth staining, which is one of the side effects of smoking. It has the potential to turn your teeth yellow to brown in a very short period of time.
How is Smoking and gum (periodontal) disease related?
The risk of gum disease is higher: for someone who smokes less than 10 cigarettes per day, compared to someone who smokes none.
People who smoke heavily are four to five times more likely to develop this condition.
Smoking leads to deposition of bacterial plaque, which leads to gum disease. Because smoking causes a lack of oxygen in the bloodstream, infected gums do not heal. Smoking causes more dental plaque and accelerates the progression of gum disease in comparison to nonsmokers.
If you smoke, the following things may happen:
Tooth loss (of some or all of your natural teeth) makes it difficult to chew certain foods, speak clearly, or smile confidently if lost teeth are not replaced.
Gum disease could be more difficult to detect. Bleeding gums, which are usually an indication of gum disease, may not be present because tobacco causes poor blood supply to the gums. People with habit of smoking show less or no response to gum treatment as compared to non-smokers.
Smoking and consumption of alcohol together increases the risk of Severe periodontal disease and developing a condition called acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis which leads to excruciating pain.
Why Smoking leads to slow healing after dental treatment?
Tobacco decreases body’s defence system to fight against the infections and harmful bodies. This slows down body normal healing process.
Smoking may lead to:
Dry socket is painful condition where the tooth socket is not healed after removal to the tooth due to failure of formation of blood clot at the site.
Dental implants and other surgical procedures have a lower success rate.
Mouth cancer and smoking risk
Mouth cancer (also known as oral cancer) is a form of cancer that affects the mouth, including the tongue, cheek, roof or floor of the mouth, and lips. Smoking is one of the major risk factor for oral cancer.
People who smoke and drink alcohol are more likely to develop oral cancer than people who only do one or the other.
Many that have stopped smoking eventually have the same chance of developing oral cancer as nonsmokers, but it is never too late to quit.
Tobacco smoke contains chemicals that induce, trigger, or encourage cancer. These chemicals induce genetic changes in oral cavity cells, which may result in the development of oral cancer.
Tobacco use raises the risk of oral cancer by exposing the mouth to carcinogenic chemicals by inhalation while smoking or direct contact while chewing tobacco products.
Health risks of vaping
Smoking e-cigarettes or water pipes (also known as vaping) can appear to be less harmful than smoking traditional cigarettes. However, this may not be the case with your oral health.
When you vape, you inhale e-liquids (also known as vaping juice), which can contain toxic substances even though they are labelled "nicotine-free."
These include:
Nicotine.
Heavy metals.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Cancer-causing chemicals.
If the vaping system contains nicotine, the risk of it causing problems in your mouth is even higher.
The long-term consequences of vaping are not fully understood. However, there is some evidence that vaping can cause mouth inflammation, which can lead to gum disease and other oral health issues.
Some people can experience a temporary loss of taste (also called vape tongue). Vaping can be seen as a means of quitting smoking. However, vaping can make it more difficult to quit smoking entirely, increasing the risk of tobacco-related diseases such as mouth cancer.
