What Your Dentist Wants You To Know About Tobacco

Before the mid-60s, smoking was a sign of something hip and stylish. Cigarette companies did a big business by projecting smoking as one of the healthy habits. Fortunately, with the development of science, we have all realized how detrimental smoking is for health in many ways. It can kill you, give you mouth cancer, and also cause a lot of dental issues.

If you have been struggling to get out of tobacco addiction, then this article will give you enough motivation to discard cigarettes and move them out of your life. A friendly chat with your dentist would reveal many things which will help you lead a healthier and longer life.

What Your Dentist Will Tell You About Tobacco

Besides the smoker’s breath and staining of teeth, here are a plethora of things that smoking can induce in your oral health:

• Plaque and tartar buildup – Smokers and tobacco eaters have more tartar and plaque buildup. With smoking, a reaction is triggered in your body’s cells that change your body’s pH balance, which increases the risk of plaque buildup. If this plaque buildup is not treated in time and you continue to smoke, it develops into hard tartar. Tartar is something that only a dental professional can remove, and it worsens gum problems. All this affects not just the looks of your teeth (leaving yellowish brown deposits on teeth and gum line) but also worsens gum diseases, leading to tooth loss.
• Increased risk of gum diseases – Since smoking increases plaque and tartar buildup, it worsens gum diseases or starts its onset directly. By smoking regularly, you are also dealing with the chances of your gum’s healing process. It practically means your gums can worsen in a brief period and take much longer to bounce back to their original form. Your dentist would make you aware of these problems to save not just your teeth but also your gums.
• Bad breath – Our lungs are made up of spongy tissues known as bronchioles. Bronchioles have many small holes in them, which allows the air to pass through. When you inhale tobacco smoke, these tiny air holes are filled by the smoke, and the trapped smoke clings to bronchioles. When you talk, laugh, or exhale, this smoke loosens up and comes out, resulting in the smoker’s breath. Many times this is old smoke that was trapped in your lungs and getting released later and causing a sour aroma. Your dentist will be sure to remind you that such smoke particles trapped in your lungs affect your body beyond just bad teeth and dental health.
• Increased chance of mouth cancer – Those who smoke are six times more likely to get mouth cancer than non-smokers.

Apart from the top reasons listed here for quitting tobacco, many other things can be worsened by smoking, like increased bone loss within the jaw, lowering the success rate of any dental implants, etc. With the non-judgmental and friendly atmosphere of a dentist’s office, you will be more open to changing your ways by eliminating smoking-habit and going for teeth cleaning and other procedures to restore your healthy and beautiful smile.

Book an Appointment to find out which treatment might be best for you.