What Does Smoking Do to Your Teeth and Gums?

What Does Smoking Do to Your Teeth and Gums?

Most people know that smoking is bad for their health since it can cause various health problems. It can cause fatal diseases in some cases. However, do you know smoking can harm your teeth, gums, and mouth? 

No Tobacco Is Safe

Tobacco in any form can harm your teeth and gums and cause severe health problems. The irritants and sugars contained in tobacco can erode your tooth enamel and cause gum infections. Left unaddressed, these can lead to gum disease and tooth loss. Furthermore, chewing tobacco can cause mouth lesions that can become cancerous. 

How Can Smoking Affect Your Oral Health?

The adverse effects of smoking begin with your mouth since it is the entry point to your body. Each time you light up and exhale that first puff of smoke, you likely are not thinking about how it affects your mouth. Smoking can affect the health and appearance of your teeth and gums in various ways. 

Teeth Discoloration

How many cigarettes do you smoke a day? If you smoke a pack daily, you are giving up on maintaining white teeth. Your tooth enamel is like a vase’s porcelain finish with very fine cracks. With aging and prolonged use of your teeth, the cracks in your teeth will absorb everything you put in your mouth. 

So, the tar and nicotine in a cigarette will seep into your teeth and become a fixture there. Besides staining your teeth, cigarette tar and nicotine can cause a buildup of plaque and tartar. Most chronic smokers require teeth whitening to maintain a white smile. 

Tooth Loss

Chronic smokers have a decreased chance of preserving their natural teeth due to the following reasons:

Delayed Healing

Oxygen is necessary for the healing process. Tobacco reduces oxygen in the bloodstream. When you have a dental condition or oral disease that requires a surgical procedure, you will heal more slowly if you are a chronic smoker. Also, you are likely to face a more extended recovery period. Furthermore, smokers are at a higher risk of gum infection because their gums may not heal properly after surgery.

Increased Risk of Gum Disease

One of the most common causes of tooth loss in adults is gum disease, and smoking is one of the significant contributors. Gum disease tends to progress faster in smokers. Also, dental implants are less successful with smokers than with nonsmokers. 

What Happens If You Lose Your Teeth?

So, you are missing a few teeth. What is the big deal? You can always get an implant if you lose a tooth. If you were a nonsmoker, this would be true. However, it would help to remember that you require a healthy jawbone to get dental implants. Otherwise, you will not have a stable anchor for your implants. 

Conclusion

Smoking certainly harms your teeth. However, the most harmful impact occurs on the jawbone and gums that hold your teeth in place. So, you should stop lighting up if you want to maintain your teeth for a lifetime.

For more dental care tips, visit Elite Dentistry & Implant Center at our Chelsea, Alabama, office. Call 205-224-0040 to schedule an appointment today.