What Smokers Should Know About Oral Health
5 ways smoking can affect your oral health
Do you smoke? You’ve probably already heard a lot about the impact of this habit on your lungs. But did you know that smoking can also have a big impact on the health of your teeth and gums?
Smoking Can Mask Signs of Gum Disease
Bleeding gums are one of the most common symptoms of gum disease. But if you are a smoker, your gums may not bleed as readily. Without this key symptom to alert you to the presence of a gum disease infection, the disease is likely to progress to the more severe form of periodontitis before you realize you need treatment.
Smoking Increases Risk of Tooth Loss
According to research recently published in the Journal of Dental Research, men who smoke are 3.6 times more likely to suffer tooth loss than non-smokers. Women are 2.5 times more likely. The fact that smokers tend to have more problems with gum disease no doubt plays a role in this correlation—if left untreated, gum disease can cause teeth to become loose and eventually fall out.
Smoking Limits Options for Tooth Replacement
If you have lost a tooth, the best way to replace it is with a dental implant. However, if you smoke this will complicate the healing process for any kind of oral surgery—including dental implant surgery. Unless you give up smoking you will have to settle for a bridge to replace your missing tooth. Unlike a dental implant, a bridge will not stop bone loss in the jaw around the missing tooth root.
Smoking is Risk Factor for Oral Cancer
Another serious impact that smoking can have on your oral health is potentially causing oral cancer. Your dentist is typically your first line of defense against oral cancer. When you get your annual dental exams, you will also be getting an annual oral cancer screening and this often allows for oral cancers to be identified early enough for successful treatment.
Smoking Could Affect Your Kids’ Oral Health
According to one observational study recently published in The British Medical Journal, there is a correlation between exposure to smokers and dental caries in babies. Specifically, researchers found that babies who had a smoker in their household at 4 months of age were twice as likely to develop cavities as those children who lived in non-smoking households.
Can’t Quit Smoking? Visit the Dentist More Often
While quitting smoking is the best way to prevent this habit from affecting your oral health, if you are not able to quit you can still work to improve your oral health by stepping up your oral care routine. You may need to be more conscientious about brushing and flossing at home in order to prevent gum disease, and if you are especially prone to infections you may also want to start visiting the dentist more than once per year to help keep your teeth and gums clean and healthy.
To make an appointment with a skilled dentist from California Dental Group, please call one of our clinic locations today.
