Smoking is known to be harmful to health and makes you suffer from a variety of diseases, ranging from emphysema to cardiovascular diseases. It is generally thought that smoking causes lung and heart diseases, but it is important to note that it has some serious adverse effects on your oral health. You must contact the Leduc general dentist to get your oral health checked and stay healthy. If you are a regular smoker, you should start quitting the habit to protect yourself.
How Does Smoking Affect Your Oral Health?
Smokers are widely seen inflicted with a condition called smoker’s breath, which is when a stale scent from the cigarette smoke is still left lingering in your throat and mouth. Apart from that, smoking leaves back chemical compounds that, when mixed with your saliva, lead to bad breath. Smoking is seen to cause dental stains, which means that over time, it leads to the teeth turning yellow or even yellowish brown. The main reason for this is the nicotine and tar that come in contact with your teeth while smoking and go into your tooth’s enamel through tiny pores.
The heat from the smoking of cigarettes leads to the inflammation of the duct openings of the minor salivary glands. Along with the inflammation, smoking also leads to reduced salivation and a change in quality. Smoking causes the jawbone to lose density, and with time, the jawbone will recede and cause tooth loss.
Smoking leads to leukoplakia, or white patches on the inside of the mouth. It is seen that smokers have a 4-6 times higher chance of contracting leukoplakia than non-smokers. It starts with the bacteria on the teeth that will go under your gums, and if the bacteria are left to infest your teeth for too long, layers of hardened plaque and film will build up and lead to an early gum disease called gingivitis.
Does Smoking Affect Your Healing Process?
Smoking cigarettes leads to slow healing of the oral tissues after both surgical and non-surgical tooth extractions, surgeries, and other dental activities. It also affects your immunity adversely and increases the risk of you facing difficulties after a dental procedure. Tobacco is a carcinogen, which means that it causes damage to your DNA and leads to cancer. Smokers have 5- 10 times greater chances of cancer than non-smokers and similarly have a higher mortality rate. One should quit smoking if they have recently undergone any dental surgery.