Per a report by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), fourteen of every one hundred people aged eighteen and above in the U.S. smoke. Healthcare professionals have warned people for years about the effect of smoking on overall health.
But what makes smoking a bad idea for your general health? And particularly, why is it a bad idea for your teeth? You most likely know that smoking is bad for overall health because it impacts the lungs and other organs, but the impacts of smoking start with the mouth. This blog discusses what makes smoking bad for your teeth and why you should avoid it.
What Smoking Does to Your Teeth
The first point of entry into the body is the mouth. You are probably not thinking of how the smoke will impact your teeth when you smoke. Smoking impacts both your general health and the appearance of your teeth.
Smoking Can Lead to Tooth Discoloration
Daily smoking will make maintaining your teeth's natural white color challenging. Think of your teeth as a porcelain-made vase. Essentially, your tooth enamel resembles a porcelain coating with ultra-fine cracks. The more you continue using your teeth, the more those fine cracks absorb whatever you place inside your mouth.
The tar and nicotine in tobacco or cigarettes penetrate the cracks whenever you smoke and attach themselves there. Brushing them away will be impossible. Stained teeth are caused by more factors than just a bad brushing routine. You can also experience an accumulation of tartar and plaque on the tooth surface due to the tar and nicotine found in cigarettes.
If you are a heavy smoker, your dentist may recommend that you undergo a teeth whitening procedure to maintain the pearl-white color of your teeth and a beautiful smile.
Smoking Can Cause Tooth Loss
If you are a chronic smoker, various reasons reduce your chance of keeping your natural teeth for a lifetime. They include the following:
- Delayed Dental Healing Process
Cigarette or tobacco smoking reduces blood oxygen. It is essential to recall that oxygen plays a critical role in various body healing processes. When you suffer from an oral illness or a dental condition requiring a surgical procedure like a root canal, dental implant, tooth extraction, et cetera, you will heal slowly, and recovery will take longer if you are a chronic smoker. You also have a higher infection risk if you are a smoker, as your gums might be incapable of healing correctly.
- Increased Risk of Periodontitis
Periodontal disease is among the most prevalent reasons adults lose teeth, and cigarette or tobacco smoking is one of the contributing factors to this illness. Periodontitis progresses more quickly in heavy smokers. Consequently, you will not only generally lose your teeth if you are a chronic smoker, but any dental procedure will be less successful for you than it would be for non-smokers.
- Progression of Gingivitis
Whether or not you smoke, it is essential to know that periodontitis starts with the growth of bacteria in the mouth. Some individuals are genetically highly susceptible to periodontitis, but smoking increases your chances as you are introducing bacteria frequently with tobacco or cigarettes. As you keep smoking, plaque starts to accumulate, and bacteria multiply. You may then experience gum inflammation and see more blood in your saliva or on your toothbrush whenever you brush.
That is the onset of gingivitis. When you do not properly treat this gingivitis, it can advance to periodontitis. If you have periodontal disease, the inner gum layer and bone start separating from your teeth. This then leads to pocket formation between the gums and the teeth.
Bacteria and debris build up in the pockets, and an infection develops. If you do not smoke, your immune system will kick in fully at this moment to fight off the infection. But your immune system is compromised if you are a smoker, so the disease can easily progress and spread underneath the gum line.
At this stage, everything supporting your teeth, from the connective tissue to the bone, suffers. The bacteria generate toxins that destroy your connective tissue and jawbone. You may start noticing your teeth loosening at this point as the tissue and bone are slowly damaged. Your teeth do not have support to anchor them in position, and they frequently start falling out.
Cigarette or tobacco smoking is the smoking gun for tooth loss. Cigarettes cause tooth decay and decay of all things that anchor the teeth in the jawbone. Your body will not fight off any infection that causes this erosion due to compromised immunity. If you are a heavy smoker, you want to understand the symptoms of periodontal disease. They include:
- Painful chewing.
- Sensitive teeth.
- Loose teeth.
- Swollen and red gums.
- Excessive bleeding when brushing teeth.
- Gums pulling away from teeth.
You want to watch out for these signs and see a dentist as soon as possible if you experience them.
What If Your Teeth Are Lost Due to Smoking?
At this stage, you might think it is not a big deal to lose your teeth due to smoking and that you can always undergo a dental implant procedure if you lose a tooth and restore your smile. This thought would be factual if you did not smoke.
But it is essential to recall that implants need a healthy jaw bone. If you have lost a tooth or teeth due to eroding tissue and bone, your jawbone will not be strong enough to form a stable base to hold dental implants. You will also have a regularly shifting jaw, meaning you can opt for dentures. However, you will need multiple regular fittings as your jaw shrinks.
Smoking Leads to Oral Cancer
Tobacco, cigars, and cigarettes contain nicotine, carcinogens, and toxins. Exposure to these harmful chemicals causes the throat's and mouth's healthy cells to mutate, increasing your chances of developing mouth cancer—arguably the most severe and difficult to treat. Oral cancer occurs when a tumor grows on the tongue surface, the roof of the mouth, the gums, the lips, or the inside of the cheeks. Tumors can also grow on the throat, tonsils, or salivary glands.
According to research, smokers are ten times more at risk of developing oral cancer than non-smokers. A surgical procedure can completely treat nine out of ten cases of oral cancer if detected early. This is one of the reasons to schedule a dental appointment at least twice a year. Symptoms of oral cancer include:
- Changes in speech.
- Red or white patches on the lining of the tongue.
- An odd feeling or numbness on the tongue or lip.
- Unexplained loose teeth.
- Lumps in the neck or mouth that do not heal.
- Mouth ulcers.
If you develop these signs, call your general practitioner or dentist immediately.
Smoking Contributes to Gum Recession
Whereas gums can recede for several reasons, the primary cause is chronic smoking. If you smoke, you are highly likely to have receding gums, apart from gum disease.
When you inhale tobacco products, the chemicals within them stick to the gums and teeth, causing tartar formation. The tartar blocks the gum line and, with time, erodes it, causing gum recession. Also, when you inhale tobacco, the harmful chemicals within attack the gums over time, making them susceptible to diseases that can result in gum recession.
Smoking also causes saliva flow to decrease, a situation that also damages the gums with time. When the mouth has less saliva, the gums are incapable of thriving. Saliva has minerals that keep the gums and teeth healthy. Without it, various diseases will likely develop.
When gum recession occurs, it exposes the margins of the dental crowns, making oral hygiene more challenging. Dental crown exposure also changes the esthetic appearance of the crown.
Smoking and Tooth Decay
As far as general dentistry is concerned, treating dental cavities is prevalent for patients of all ages. Tooth decay can result from poor flossing and brushing and from drinking and eating sugary beverages and foods. Smoking also contributes to tooth decay. It makes you highly likely to develop large cavities, leading to weak teeth and infections. You may need to undergo a root canal procedure to correct these cavities.
Note that e-cigarettes have become popular as a safer cigarette or tobacco smoking alternative. Well, e-cigarettes do not contain tobacco and are smokeless. However, the vapor they produce contains nicotine. Additionally, e-cigarettes still contain heavy metals and other chemicals, although not as many as cigarettes, that are harmful to the teeth. The nicotine in e-cigarettes can reduce saliva production and damage gum tissue, leading to receding gums, tooth loss, and bad breath.
Your Options
The ideal way to avert smoking-related dental problems is to stop smoking. However, quitting smoking is not as easy, especially if you are a chronic smoker. While you figure out how to quit smoking, you can stick to proper dental care, at least to assist in fighting the damage to your teeth from smoking. Here are the proper dental care tips:
Do Not Miss a Dental Checkup
Sometimes it is easy to skip your regular dental visits. However, if you are a smoker, it is even more critical that you visit your dentist for a deep teeth cleaning procedure. Additionally, it is essential to undergo dental X-rays so your dental professional can proactively work to prevent more severe consequences.
Brushing and Flossing
Everyone must brush their teeth and floss. However, this is particularly essential for smokers due to the increased bacteria that tobacco or cigarette smoking causes. Brush two times a day at the minimum, and remember to brush your tongue. Using WaterPik and electric toothbrushes might be helpful. Additionally, ensure you use fluoride toothpaste to prevent the buildup of excessive tartar and protect your tooth enamel. Ask your dentist what toothpaste to use—they may even recommend a prescription one.
Prescription toothpaste for smokers usually has a higher abrasiveness and intense mint flavoring. The increased mint flavor intensity would assist in improving the freshness of your breath. But the effect might be minimal if you suffer from severe gum disease or have poor dental hygiene.
The higher abrasiveness of the toothpaste can assist in removing minor surface tooth stains, but you still want to visit your dental professional for more stubborn stains since the problem may be more than mere stains. Aggressive brushing could also damage your teeth.
Are There Special Toothbrushes to Remove Staining?
Most smokers use a hard-bristled toothbrush with intensive scrubbing and abrasive toothpaste, hoping to remove teeth stains. Do not subject your gums and teeth to much abuse; overzealous brushing usually damages the tooth structure near the gums and could lead to gum recession.
Using a soft- or medium-bristled toothbrush and a circular brushing motion suffices. Thoroughly and carefully brushing for the recommended period and daily is essential for the aesthetics and health of your gums and teeth.
Being Aware
Among the ideal ways of protecting your dental and oral health if you smoke is by being aware that smoking puts additional stress on your teeth, mouth, and gums, so be more alert. Watch out for things such as if you feel more tooth sensitivity than usual, if your gums are swollen or bright red, or if you notice white patches on your gums. All these are indications that you need to contact your dentist.
Using Mouthwash Regularly
Mouthwash is one of the best products for reducing infection risk and keeping the bacteria levels in your mouth low. Thoroughly rinse your mouth using mouthwash for not less than one minute daily—in addition to brushing and flossing—since it will kill as much bacteria in the mouth as possible.
Find an Experienced Dentist Near Me
Whereas smoking directly negatively affects your teeth, the most detrimental effect happens to the oral structures (jawbone and gums) that anchor your teeth in position. If you wish to keep your natural teeth for a lifetime, you want to stop smoking and ensure you go for routine dental check-ups.
At Northridge Advanced Dentistry, we can help keep your oral and dental health in check. We have experienced professionals who can conduct all dental procedures, including teeth cleaning and regular checkups. If you have any questions regarding your oral health or wish to schedule an appointment to have a dentist examine your teeth, call us at 818-701-3010 today.
