Oral Health and Smoking

Tooth staining and constant bad breath are the least of your worries when it comes to smoking and the severe detrimental effect is has on your oral health.  As well as causing lung cancer, heart disease and a myriad of other health conditions, smoking is one of the main contributors to gingivitis, an inflammation of the gums causing them to bleed easily when you brush and floss, and periodontal (gum) disease, a degenerative disease of the gum and supportive bone and the leading cause of adult tooth loss.

The ill effects of smoking also makes many smokers unsuitable for various restorative dental procedures such as dental implants, as smoking will impede the recovery of the gum tissue and gum disease causes a reduction in jawbone density making it unsuitable for the implants to be placed.

Smoking is the major cause of oral cancer.1  Often in its early stage it does not cause any discomfort and therefore difficult to diagnose without a radiograph and thorough examination during a regular check-up.

Oral conditions that can occur as a result of smoking include:

  • Increased plaque and calculus (tartar) build-up
  • Constant bad breath
  • A loss in jawbone density
  • Gum disease resulting in tooth loss
  • An increased risk of dental caries (cavities)
  • Red sores on your lips, gums or inside your mouth that do not heal within several weeks and may bleed easily
  • Leukoplakia, a white, scaly patch of skin inside your mouth or on your lips
  • Cancerous and precancerous lesions in your mouth that can be difficult to detect
  • Swelling or lumps in your mouth, neck, lips or on your tongue
  • Numbness or pain in your mouth or throat without any obvious causes
  • Difficulty chewing and swallowing food

The risk of developing these and other diseases is dependant upon the amount you smoke, the more you smoke, the higher the risk.

Quitting is difficult, however the team at Dental Clinique are dedicated to providing whatever advice and support they can to help you quit smoking and restore your oral health.  Contacting organisations such as Quitline will also significantly increase your chance of quitting for good.  

 

1 Ministry of Health, New Zealand, Tobacco Control and Smoking, Factsheets - Smoking Causes Mouth Cancer, from http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexmh/tobacco-warnings-factsheets-mouthcancer, acessed August 2011