Risks of Smoking to Dental Health

There have been no proven benefits to smoking. If anything, it’s a means to reduce stress but in a way that also reduces your life span. Time and again it has been demonstrated that smoking cigarettes or tobacco takes off at least seven to eight years of your life. But that’s not all there is to smoking.

Smoking has a lot of effects to the system. And that includes your dental hygiene. One of the earliest and most common manifestations of smoking is bad breath. Cigarettes contain chemicals that build up in the mouth, causing bad breath. Unfortunately, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Here are all the other ways your dental health may suffer due to smoking:

1. Tooth discoloration. Tobacco stains the teeth, causing these to turn yellow. This is due to the nicotine and tar present in tobacco.
2. Inflammation of the salivary gland openings located on the roof of the mouth
3. Buildup of plaque and tartar on the teeth. Due to the tar and nicotine, plaque and tartar starts building up on the sides of the teeth.
4. Gum disease risks. If you have been smoking for a long time, you’re most likely to develop periodontal diseases or infections of the gum that affect even the bone structure of your mouth.
5. Tooth loss. Once your gum starts to show signs of suffering due to smoking, it weakens. The weakening of the gums is a bad sign as this can now cause your teeth to fall out, thus, tooth loss.
6. Slow recovery following an oral surgery. Smoking delays the healing process so expect your tooth extraction, oral surgery or other gum treatment to not heal anytime soon when you’re smoking.
7. Oral cancer risks. Smoking hits two birds with one stone. Aside from lung cancer, continuous smoking also increases your exposure to oral cancer.

Actually, it doesn’t stop there. Smoking is far too dangerous to your health, that the effects of it dentally are just a few of the scares that you should prepare yourself for if you’re a regular smoker.

If you can’t quit smoking altogether at once, be sure to visit your dentist regularly to be able to monitor how your teeth are doing and to be prepared for any dental diseases that might come along your way.

Entrust your dental health to only the best. Visit Dr. Rowena Marzo for utmost supervision when it comes to your dental needs and concerns. Clinic is located at Unit 1607 Medical Plaza, Amorsolo cor Dela Rosa St., Legaspi Village, Makati. You may also phone for reservation over at (63)9175293203, (63)9178176635 or email at info@marzodental.com.