We all know that smoking has a negative effect on our teeth and gums.
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The main issues that smokers have with their oral health include:
- Stained teeth
- Discolouration of enamel
- Bad breath
- Gum disease
- Tooth loss
stopping smoking will help to quickly resolve many of these issues because once you remove your teeth’s exposure to tobacco and nicotine. We know that if you smoke you are likely to have stained, yellowed teeth along with bad breath, which are the most common issues with smoking.
However, it is the deeper underlying effect that smoking has on your oral health that is not so obvious that can cause real health issues.
How smoking can affect your health
Smoking can negatively impact your immune system, making you more prone to developing health issues such as gum disease and mouth cancer.
Having ‘smokers breath’ can be a sign of the early stages of gum disease. You can also develop dry mouth as the nicotine in cigarettes acts to decrease saliva production.
Developing gum disease will cause your gums to recede and expose your tooth nerves to bacterial infection and decay. Receding gums can also weaken your teeth and lead to tooth loss. You could then develop periodontal disease, which has very strong links to your cardiovascular health and has been recognised as a contributing factor for developing heart disease.
Smokers have around an 80% higher risk for developing bone loss and periodontal disease than those who don’t smoke.
Will stopping smoking improve my teeth?
If you quit smoking, even when you have been smoking for years, can help to improve your oral health and will greatly reduce your chances of developing gum disease and tooth loss.
In a test conducted over a year on a sample of smokers with chronic gum disease were given nicotine replacements, counselling and medication to help them stop smoking. At the end of the study, one-fifth of the participants had ceased smoking, but all participants had seen a level of improvement in their oral health.
How can Glow Dental help?
It is never too late to stop smoking. Even if you have been a smoker for years you will almost immediately see the benefits of quitting. Thinking about the long-term benefits of giving up will help to keep you on track.
Stopping smoking will also help to lower your risk of:
- oral cancer
- lung disease
- heart disease
Glow Dental offer a smoking cessation service to help support you when you quit. We can keep an ongoing check on your oral health and offer information about quitting smoking. Our patients that use the service notice positive changes very quickly and start to feel confident about their smile and the health of their teeth and gums.
Contact our friendly team at Glow Dental, 87 Northcote Road, Battersea, London SW11 6PL if you would like to discuss our smoking cessation service
