Smoking – Gambling On Your Health And Your Teeth
There are a lot of downsides to smoking – failing oral health is one of them.
It is widely accepted that smoking is bad for you. Medical research has certainly come a long way from the time when doctors would suggest that you have a cigarette to help you to relax! There is little doubt that the number of people who smoke has dropped significantly over the past few years but there are still thought to be around 6.5 million people in the UK who do still smoke. Each one of these is at an increased risk of many medical issues and also damage to their oral health.
Like any dentist, we see many patients who have teeth or gum issues that may not have happened if they didn’t smoke. This and the way that it makes teeth look after a while is a good reason to stop. We hope that the information below will help patients of our Epsom dentist clinic to take the first steps to quit this harmful and expensive habit.
Gum disease
This is one of the most common problems that smoking has a significant impact on. This happens in a number of ways. The main reason is the fact that smokers tend to have drier mouths and this enables the potentially harmful bacteria that can lead to gum disease to increase significantly. When this happens, even brushing and flossing will struggle to keep your gums healthy. In addition to this, the smoke from cigarettes and the chemicals within it can mean that infections are more likely. Gum disease not only affects the gums, but in the more advanced stage known as periodontitis, can also affect the bone, sometimes causing teeth to become loose or even fall out.
Stained and discoloured teeth
This is one that most smokers will recognise. If you have smoked for some time, your teeth are likely to be discoloured to some degree. Milder cases are likely to cause yellowing teeth while longer term and/or heavier smokers may find that their teeth are closer to a brown colour. It is unlikely that this can be improved to any degree through brushing alone and you may wish to consider either a teeth whitening procedure or teeth veneers that we provide at the Clocktower Dental, Implant & Facial Centre. Our cosmetic dental team will be able to guide you towards the most effective treatment for your situation.
Oral cancers
Although thankfully less common than gum disease, oral cancers can be more serious and can cause facial disfigurement or even death, and smoking will increase your risk of this significantly.
We always check for any possible cancerous signs during your regular six monthly check up and, should we find anything that we are unsure of, we may refer you to your GP for further investigation. If we do this, please remember that this is purely precautionary and may be something entirely different. We are not trained to diagnose cancer but are in a good position to detect things that might possibly be. The fact that the outcome of any treatment for cancer is usually better if treated early, makes it logical to have any possible signs investigated professionally as soon as possible.
Weakened healing ability and infection risks
When you smoke, the chemicals in tobacco causes blood vessels to become narrower. This also applies to the tiny blood vessels in our gums. If you have cut a gum accidentally or even scratched it, you are likely to find that they will heal more slowly and may even become infected. This can also happen if you have had a dental procedure and may cause complications a little later on if it doesn’t heal as quickly as it should.
Tooth decay and loss
There are two factors that can increase the risk of tooth decay in smokers. The first is the dry mouth factor. Our saliva is responsible for continuously flushing away a lot of food debris and bacteria. Without this, there are more sugars for bacteria to feed on, creating acid as a by product which is what causes the start of cavities in the teeth. The other factor is tartar, the hardened bacteria and minerals that attach to the teeth and gum line. This accelerates gum disease. However, it is important to remember that this not only affects the gums, but, as mentioned earlier can also weaken or reduce bone density. If this happens teeth may become loose or even fall out.
As you can see then, there are plenty of reasons why our Epsom patients should make an effort to stop smoking. If you prefer a more positive motivation, think how much money you would save each year. If you smoke twenty cigarettes a day, you would be looking at saving somewhere in the region of £5000 per year. We think you will agree that this is a very large sum of money to pay for something harmful to your health that might even kill you.
If you are a smoker or have smoked in the past and would like to have an oral health check, or would like to see how we can improve the colour of your stained or discoloured teeth, why not call us today? You can speak to one of our friendly reception team by calling the Clocktower Dental, Implant & Facial Centre on 01372 720136.