How Does Smoking Affect Your Teeth?
There are millions of smokers around the world who very well know the adverse effects of smoking on their health. However, not many know how harmful smoking is for their teeth as well.
What happens to your teeth if you smoke?
Tobacco has several negative effects on your teeth. Cigarettes decrease your mouth’s capacity to combat infection, leaving you exposed to the bacteria that smoking produces. Plaque and bacteria thrive when the mouth is unable to defend itself.
Plaque and bacteria buildup causes a slew of oral health problems, including:
Discoloration of the teeth:
A visible sign that someone smokes is yellowed or stained teeth. Tobacco’s chemicals adhere to the enamel of your teeth, staining them over time. Teeth whitening treatments will slow down this process, but it’s difficult to avoid or reverse it if you continue to smoke.
Breath Problems:
For smokers nowadays, the adage “your breath stinks like an ashtray” remains true. Cigarette particles linger in the mouth long after a cigarette has been extinguished, giving the air a cigarette-like flavor.
Furthermore, smoking’s long-term implications lead to poor breath. There is an overgrowth of bacteria in a smoker’s mouth that causes awful breath. Bad breath is caused by an overgrowth of bacteria in the smoker’s mouth. Unfortunately, no amount of brushing or mouthwash gargling can remove the odor caused by gum disease, oral sores, and decay. The best way to get things back on track is to quit smoking completely and consult with a dentist to fix the underlying problems.
Smoking for a long time can cause inflammation of the salivary glands, which can cause painful swelling in the face and necessitate surgery if salivary gland stones form.
Gum Disease:
According to the CDC, smokers are twice as likely as nonsmokers to develop gum disease. Every cigarette you smoke raises the risk, and gum disease treatments don’t work well on smokers. What is the reason for this? Smoking limits the mouth’s capacity to combat bacteria, causing it to collect on teeth and ultimately penetrate the gums. Gums may pull away from teeth if not handled, weakening the underlying bone structures. Periodontitis is the most extreme cause of this, in which the bone and tissue that keep teeth in place break down, causing teeth to fall out or be removed.
Delayed Healing :
Unfortunately, the bad news for smokers does not end there. Smoking increases the risk of tooth extraction and oral surgery and reduces the body’s ability to recover from these procedures. It also reduces the success rate of dental implant procedures. The more your mouth is open to bacteria, the more likely you are to experience more complications. A dentist can help as much as possible, but treatment plans are just as successful as the patient’s ability to stop smoking.
Oral cancer :
Oral cancer is the most serious type of smoking-related mouth problem. When smoking is combined with heavy drinking, the risk of developing oral cancer rises. Oral cancer manifests itself first as a white or red patch in the mouth, followed by trouble chewing or swallowing, numbness in the jaw, and even ear pain. Although there are other possible reasons for these symptoms, the National Institutes of Health advises that any person who experiences them for more than two weeks must see a doctor.
Best Solution: Again, a dentist may develop a treatment plan to help reduce the effects of smoking, but the only way to fully remove them is to quit smoking. Smoking will affect many parts of your body, including your teeth, and quitting can guarantee a healthy life for years to come.