03.12.2019

How does smoking affect your dental health?

There’s little point in repeating that smoking is generally terrible for your health. However, you might be interested in knowing how exactly it affects your oral health.  Well, here we go.

Bad breath

Kissing a smoker is akin to kissing an ashtray, especially for non—smokers. Fullstop.

Tooth discoloration

Especially if we’re talking about a long term habit, smoking will change your natural tooth colour into one of those fifty shades of grey.

Inflammation of the salivary gland openings on the roof of the mouth

Smoking is like constantly irritating the roof of your mouth. It comes as no surprise then, that salivary gland openings are often inflamed. Increased build up of plaque and tartar on the teeth Smoke itself contains tiny particles that contribute to plaque and tartar building up.

And many serious diseases.

Smoking causes increased loss of bone within the jaw and increases the risk of leukoplakia, or white patches inside your mouth. It also increases the risk of you developing gum disease.

How smoking affects dental treatment

Smoking also affects dental treatment. If you’re a smoker, every healing process, such as the one following tooth extraction, periodontal treatment or oral surgery, is likely to be delayed and more complicated than usual. Dental implant procedures are also less successful if you smoke.

Smoking can lead to gum disease by affecting the attachment of bone and soft tissue to your teeth, as smoking interferes with normal function of gum tissue cells.

Obviously, you may object you like tobacco, but you don’t smoke. The bad news is it concerns not just cigarettes, but all tobacco products. Instead of looking for excuses, we suggest you try and kick your habit. Your doctor will surely be happy to help you with that.