Good
health requires a balance of many factors, from medical care and
genetics to lifestyle choices. One of those lifestyle choices
involves the decision to use (or to quit using) tobacco products.
Cigarettes, chewing tobacco, and other such products can cause oral
and dental problems as well as other serious health issues.
If
you have weighed this question for yourself and seek additional
reasons to steer clear of tobacco products, consider the well-being
of your teeth and mouth. Check out these four dental reasons to
either give up tobacco products or never use them in the first place.
1.
Tobacco Products Cause Oral Cancer
The
medical profession has long associated tobacco products with elevated
cancer risks. Smokers have six
times the
risk of lip, throat, tongue, and mouth cancer compared to
non-smokers. In fact, 90 percent of the people who develop these
cancers also smoke.
Chewing
tobacco also raises your risks for various types of oral cancer,
according to the Mayo Clinic. Smokeless tobacco products contain 28
different chemicals known to promote cancer and other diseases. The
concentrated levels of nicotine in these products also makes them
highly addictive, impeding your ability to cut down or quit once you
start.
2.
Tobacco Products Stain Teeth
Cosmetic
issues may seem trivial compared to diseases such as cancer, but they
affect your quality of life nevertheless. A Procter and Gamble study
showed that individuals with white teeth enjoy greater success in
their careers and personal relationships. Unfortunately, tobacco
products can dull the most dazzling smile.
Any
kind of oral tobacco product can stain your tooth enamel, turning it
yellow or (or in the worst cases) brown. These stubborn stains may
require professional tooth whitening techniques (which employ
clinical-grade peroxide instead of the weaker ingredients in
over-the-counter home whitening kits).
Even
if you manage to restore the whiteness of your tooth enamel, your
newly whitened teeth may not match the color of your permanent dental
work. While veneers and other porcelain restorations resist staining,
they can still become discolored. You might have to replace severely
discolored restorations prematurely.
3.
Tobacco Products Increase Periodontal Problems
Tobacco
can damage the tissues that surround your tooth roots and anchor your
teeth to your jawbone. It does this by causing the gums to shrink
away from the teeth, enlarging the gaps known as periodontal pockets.
Bacteria can then settle into these pockets, creating chronic gum
disease and tissue-damaging inflammation.
According
to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smokers have twice
the risk for periodontal disease compared to nonsmokers, but users of
smokeless tobacco also have an elevated risk. Severe periodontal
disease can turn into a lifelong struggle to keep your teeth and ward
off systemic bacterial infections (which can spread to various parts
of the body).
4.
Smoking Reduces Your Mouth's Healing Abilities
If
you need to undergo periodontal treatment, functional dental
restoration, or cosmetic oral surgery, your use of tobacco products
could greatly slow your healing time. The nicotine in these products
reduces the amount of oxygen available to tissue. This limitation can
delay attempts to rebuild tissue.
Tobacco
users also seem to have more trouble maintaining a blood clot after
oral surgery. Clot development plays a critical role in successful
recuperation from wisdom tooth extraction and other procedures.
Smokers tend to lose these clots four
times more
frequently than non-smoking oral surgery patients.
Don't
neglect the importance of saliva in your oral surgery recovery.
Saliva contains a substance called immunoglobulin, which helps get
rid of infectious agents in the mouth. The mouths of tobacco users
produce less of this protective substance than the mouths of
non-smokers.
In
addition to dental evaluations and treatments, Michael G. Landy, DDS,
can provide you and your loved ones with ongoing lifestyle advice to
help you protect your oral health for many years to come. Contact
us to
learn more.
