How Tobacco Can Affect Your Oral Health 

Every tobacco user knows that tobacco can impact your physical health, but tobacco also has a huge effect on your oral health. Tobacco use causes tooth decay, gum disease, and more. This blog post will provide you with some information about tobacco’s adverse effects on the mouth so that you can make an educated decision about whether or not to quit smoking.

What is Tobacco?

Tobacco is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant that are rolled into a cigar, or packed into a pipe or cigarette. Nicotine is the active ingredient in tobacco which is why it’s so addictive. Nicotine enters your bloodstream when you smoke and reaches your brain in about 8 seconds. After nicotine reaches your brain, your body reacts to this stimulant by releasing neurotransmitters and hormones, one of which is dopamine. Dopamine causes you to feel pleasure so it gives nicotine users the feeling that they’re happy and relaxed. The nicotine in cigarettes can be as much as 1000 times stronger than the nicotine in other tobacco products; this makes quitting smoking extremely hard for many people who are addicted to nicotine.

What are the Dangers of Tobacco Use?

Tobacco has many effects on your body, including oral health. Here are some of the ways that tobacco harms your mouth:

• Increases plaque and tartar buildup which can cause gum disease and cavities. Even smokeless tobacco can influence plaque and tartar buildup because it contains nicotine which increases plaque growth.
• Causes oral cancer. If you’re a tobacco user, you’re four times more likely than non-tobacco users to develop oral or throat cancer due to the carcinogens in tobacco products.
• Increases your oral bacteria level, which can cause cavities.
• Causes tooth erosion due to the acidity of tobacco products. Acidic substances cause erosion, which shows up as white spots on your teeth that are painless and not easily fixable.
• Worsen symptoms of people with temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ) such as lockjaw and tenderness in your jaw. However, it’s worth noting that some studies have found a positive association between tobacco use and TMJ while others have suggested a negative impact of using smokeless tobacco on TMJ.
• The chemicals in tobacco products can cause bad breath by decreasing saliva production and changing the amounts of the bacteria in your mouth. Smoking also decreases oxygen levels in your mouth, which means that your gums can’t heal as quickly.

Further, smoking weakens your body’s infection fighters (your immune system). This makes it harder to fight off a gum infection. Once you have gum damage, smoking also makes it harder for your gums to heal.

Caring for Your Teeth and Gums

First and foremost, if you want to prioritize your dental health, it’s important to quit using tobacco. If you’re a tobacco user and don’t want to quit, we can still help you. Your dentist and dental hygienist will clean your teeth and remove the plaque and tartar buildup that is caused by tobacco use. It’s important that those who smoke visit their dentist for routine checkups so that problems such as gum disease can be treated before they get worse.

In addition to visiting your dentist, it’s important to brush and floss every day. If you have a toothbrush with soft bristles, this is a good option for people who are trying to quit using tobacco because the bristles will be gentle on your gums. Soft bristles can scrub away plaque and tartar while being gentle on your gums.

Quitting Tips 

Even if you’ve smoked for many years, quitting can improve your oral health and reduce the likelihood of gum disease and tooth loss. Some tips to work on quitting tobacco use include:

• Ask your dentist or dental hygienist for help. They can work with you on quitting tobacco.
• Wean yourself off of tobacco by smoking less or smoking less often. For example, if you smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, try reducing that to half a pack per day for a week and then to one cigarette every other day for another week. Ask your dentist how long it might take before your body is clear of the chemicals in tobacco products.
• Giving yourself rewards every week you stay tobacco-free and not smoking one extra cigarette each day until you’ve reached the goal of quitting completely if this approach makes you feel more motivated. Writing down the reasons why you want to quit so that you’ll have a list to refer to when you’re tempted and thinking of the effects that tobacco is having on your body, such as bad breath and stained teeth, can be helpful too.
• Remind yourself that quitting takes hard work but it’s worth it if you want to protect your heart, lungs and gums as well as improve your overall health.

Make an Appointment with Stonebrook Family Dental

Quit smoking to get whiter teeth, healthier gums & fresh breath. If you need help or don’t know where to begin, contact Stonebrook Family Dental today for an appointment!