How is Oral Health Affected by Smoking And Vaping?
If you’re a smoker, there’s a good chance that your oral health has been affected. Smoking and other forms of tobacco use can cause a host of dental problems, including tooth decay, gum disease, and mouth sores. Vaping also increases the risk of oral cancer because it exposes users to nicotine — known to cause cancer — as they inhale vaporized e-liquids or other chemicals through their devices. Fortunately, there are ways to reduce these risks by quitting smoking or using vapes responsibly. It is also crucial to visit the dentist near you for a checkup and professional cleaning.
How Does Smoking and Vaping Affect Teeth?
- Yellow teeth.
Smoking is a well-known risk factor for tooth discoloration. The nicotine in cigarettes and e-cigarettes can cause yellowing of the teeth. These chemicals can also damage your gums and cause bleeding if you smoke too much or too long.
Smoking causes many problems for people with oral health issues that affect their ability to eat or drink normally—but it isn’t just about how bad smoking looks!
- Tooth decay.
Tooth decay. Smokers are more likely to have teeth that are sensitive and have cavities, but studies have also shown that smoking can cause tooth decay. The nicotine in cigarettes leaves your mouth dry, making it more prone to bacteria that cause plaque buildup on teeth and gums. Smoking also damages the enamel on your teeth.
Visit family dentistry in Frisco, TX, if you notice dark holes in the teeth.
- Mouth sores and infections.
Smoking and vaping irritate the lining around your lips, causing them to become inflamed (red). Sore throats are common among smokers, too, because inhaling smoke from cigarettes into their lungs irritates them further, so they tend to scratch at their throats when they talk or laugh loudly at parties with friends who smoke around them all day long!
- Bad breath.
The smoke from cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products contains over 4,000 chemicals that can cause bad breath. The most common ones are nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen cyanide.
Smoking or vaping also causes gum disease because of the constant exposure to the bacterial plaque that builds up on your teeth when you’re smoking or vaping. Taking care of your oral health is crucial so that it doesn’t lead to other serious health problems down the road!
- Gum disease.
Gum disease can lead to tooth loss, bad breath, and even tooth decay. If you smoke or vape, your risk of gum disease increases because smoking increases inflammation in your mouth and can cause plaque buildup on teeth that could lead to cavities or even root damage if left untreated. Visit a dental office in Frisco if you have tooth sensitivity or tender, swollen and red gums.
- Oral cancer.
Smoking and vaping can increase your risk of oral cancer. Oral cancer develops in the mouth, lips, tongue, or throat. It’s typically caused by smoking cigarettes or cigars, chewing tobacco (chewing tobacco products include snuff), or using e-cigarettes with cartridges filled with nicotine.
Smoking causes damage to cells in your mouth, resulting in precancerous changes that may become malignant if they aren’t treated early enough. E-cigarettes are not as strongly linked to cancer as regular cigarettes. However, they still carry risks because they contain chemicals like formaldehyde and acetone, which could cause inflammation in the lining of the lungs (called bronchial asthma).
- Diminished senses of taste and smell
The sense of smell is a big part of our ability to taste. That’s why smoking reduces the ability to smell—and this also affects how we perceive food and beverages. Your sense of smell may be diminished after smoking even though you don’t notice it at first glance because your brain has been trained by years and decades of habituation with cigarette smoke (that is, if a person has never smoked before).
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Visit Millennium Smiles on Legacy for more information about oral health and how to protect your teeth from decay and cavities.