{"id":1048,"date":"2019-11-06T18:39:42","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T18:39:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/dental-care-blog\/how-smoking-affects-oral-health\/"},"modified":"2019-11-06T18:39:42","modified_gmt":"2019-11-06T18:39:42","slug":"how-smoking-affects-oral-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/dental-care-blog\/how-smoking-affects-oral-health\/","title":{"rendered":"How Smoking Affects Oral Health"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

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WE\u2019VE ALL HEARD<\/b> over and over how smoking can adversely impact health, with the most infamous example being lung cancer. But smoking doesn\u2019t only harm the lungs; it damages every single system in the body, and it also damages oral health.<\/p>\n

Smoking Increases the Risk of Oral Cancer<\/h3>\n

Like we said before, lung cancer tends to get all the attention when it comes to consequences of smoking, but four out of every five people diagnosed with oral cancer smoke or chew tobacco<\/strong>. Early symptoms of oral cancer include persistent mouth sores or pain, unusual white patches, swelling, numbness, difficulty chewing or swallowing, and a sensation of having something stuck in the throat.<\/p>\n

What Is Smoker\u2019s Keratosis?<\/h3>\n

The weirdest effect smoking can have on oral health is that it can cause white patches to develop on the roof of the mouth. These patches are smoker\u2019s keratosis (or stomatitis nicotina). This condition is still something of a medical mystery, but the current theory is that the white patches are caused by inflamed mucous glands. While they typically aren\u2019t painful, they can be pre-cancerous.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Smoking Makes Gum Disease More Likely<\/h3>\n

As many as half of adults older than 30<\/a> have some form of gum disease, and smoking doubles the risk of developing it and makes it harder to treat.<\/strong> Gum disease, if left untreated, can lead to serious damage to the gingiva (gum tissue), bone loss in the jaw, and tooth loss. In severe cases, it can even be life-threatening if the bacteria in the mouth gets into the bloodstream through inflamed gums.<\/p>\n

What About Vaping?<\/h3>\n

Vaping or smoking e-cigarettes is often portrayed as a much healthier option to traditional smoking, but the vapor still contains nicotine and ultra-fine toxic chemicals and heavy metals. The nicotine itself reduces blood flow, affecting teeth and gums, potentially causing gum recession and death of gum tissue<\/strong>. It can also reduce saliva, leading to dry mouth (which causes all kinds of problems from bad breath to tooth decay), and it can trigger teeth grinding, which damages teeth.<\/p>\n