Bad Effects of Smoking on Dental Health

[ellenbrt]

Smoking is known to have many ill-effects on health and most of us are aware of the dangers of smoking on general health. What people tend to ignore is the impact of smoking on dental health.

Let us analyze some of the bad effects of smoking on oral health.

Tooth Discoloration: Most smokers are generally aware of the tooth stains that are caused by smoking. These tooth stains are due to nicotine and tar present in the cigarette. The staining ranges from yellow to dark brown (from years of smoking).The staining can be on specific teeth or general discoloration. These stains are hard to remove by normal brushing.

Bad Breath: Smokers are at a much greater risk of developing bad breath than non smokers. The nicotine and tar content gives rise to a typical bad breath known as smokers breath.

Apart from this smoking causes dry mouth which is a leading cause of Halitosis (bad breath).

Tooth Decay: Smoking puts you at a greater risk of developing dental caries due to plaque build up.

Gum Disease: Smoking also results in gum disease due to plaque and tartar build up. Smoking also interferes with the normal functioning of the cells in the gum tissue. A recent study published in the journal of Periodontology highlights that smokers are 4 times more likely to develop
advanced gum disease.

[Guest]

Essentially, smoking does no good to your health.

[Jessica C]

Smoking also hampers wound healing and hence is responsible for failure of many dental procedures. The success of many oral surgeries is affected to the delayed wound healing caused by smoking as smoking hinders the body's defense mechanism.

[james]

Hi,

The effects of smoking are that people who smoke a lot will certainly lose their teeth. Moreover, smoking initiates gums diseases. These gum diseases manifest swelling on the gum areas that finally lessen the strong teeth formation. It is in this stage that loss of tooth occurs.

Well some people argue that there is no relationship between the smoking and loss of teeth or gum problems. They further insist that actually inborn or innate in their genetic structure are responsible for these kind of dental problems. But their argument is totally wrong.

Thanks!

[cezzz]

I'm afraid of those illness and I don't want to lose my teeth. I haven't tried smoking since birth because it's not good in health and my parents have taught us how to take care of our health. I can't understand why others are smoking and drinking, others considered smoking and drinking as social they don't think the bad effects they could get.

[vivilben]

When other people are remote from you ,you will find how bad the cigarette is!

[realestates010]

One of the effects of smoking is staining on the teeth due to the nicotine and tar content. It can make the teeth yellow in a very short time, and heavy smokers often complain that their teeth are almost brown after years of smoking. Smoking can also lead to gum disease. Patients who smoke are more likely to produce bacterial plaque, which leads to gum disease.

[toothfairy]

(01-26-2010 12:47 AM)vivilben Wrote:  When other people are remote from you ,you will find how bad the cigarette is!

But not all people dislike the smell of cigarette or its smoke. Although personally I hate its smell IF it sticks to a person's breath already. It produces a different odor if an immediate dental hygiene isn't done.

[euphoriafan]

aside from the bad effects on teeth and gum health, tobacco also contains more than 60 factors that cause cancer, particularly nitrosamine, a carcinogen for oral cavity, lung and pancreas cancer.
smoking increases 6 times the risk for oral cancer.
i used to be an smoker dentist n strongly think that it is time to stop smoking
btw, stains by nicotine are not hard to remove, less hard than tetracycline discoloration.

[Vega]

While I think cigarette smoking is bad on dental health, I think it's a small problem compared to how bad smoking is on your heart and lungs. Bad breathe and discolored teeth are two more cosmetic problems. I look at it this way, by quitting smoking you'll not only live longer but you'll look better with healthier skin, a whiter smile and no bad breathe.