How Smoking Affects your Oral Health?

Many people in Kodambakkam smoke. But most do not understand how severely this affects their dental health.

Smoking tobacco, including cigars, cigarettes, pipes, or vape pens, can cause tooth decay and gum disease. It can affect dental restorations’ lifespan. Knowing about how smoking affects your smile can help you stop any damage and have preventive measures soon. We at K- Smile Dental Care best dental clinic in Kodambakkam, Chennai Advice you following precautions and the impact of smoking on teeth.

Here we will discuss smoking’s effects on your gums, your teeth, and your dental restorations.

Bacteria: the real culprit

Dr Bhuvaneshwari, dentist in kodambakkam, Chennai says You should know that smoking can bring bacteria into your mouth. They are the leading cause of poor oral health. 

The chemicals in tobacco have specific kinds of bacteria. Such bacteria can strain and harm everything in your mouth, from your saliva to your immune response. 

Additionally, dry mouths encourage bacterial development, causing more tartar, plaque, and gum disease. 

Smoking makes your mouth’s immune responsiveness weak. This makes it challenging for your mouth to counter infection. Your mouth becomes defenceless against everyday bacteria. So, Smoking also exposes your mouth to the bacteria that it brings.

Now let us discuss how smoking affects your teeth.

 Smoking and your Teeth

Smoking can negatively affect your teeth’s health. Smoking tobacco of any form causes discoloration, tooth decay, and enamel damage. 

• Tooth discoloration – When you start smoking, your teeth will begin to have a yellowish, dull appearance. Vaping, which is considered a ‘better’ option to smoking, can also cause tooth discoloration. Smoking regularly causes early tooth discoloration. It can turn your teeth grey or brown as well. 

• Tooth enamel health – Smoking makes your enamel weak. The acids in the smoke whittle away at your enamel. It brings stains, which contribute to tooth discoloration and enamel erosion. Chewing tobacco also harms your enamel. The tobacco’s grit can cause friction that wears down your enamel. 

• Tooth loss – Smoking increases your tooth decay risk, which leads to tooth loss. Most dental clinics in Kodambakkam have observed that smokers have increased bacteria levels that lead to tooth decay. Bacteria causing tooth decay becomes tartar and plaque in your mouth. The inflammation around the tooth caused due to the tartar harms the bone, leading to tooth loss.

• Cavities – Large cavities near your gum line causes infections and weak teeth, contributing to broken teeth in the long run. It would be best to have these broken teeth fixed, which can get pricey, sometimes painful.

Now that you know how smoking affects your teeth let us understand how it affects your gums.

Smoking and your Gums

Your gums are critical for your complete oral health. They protect and hold your smile. As you may have understood, if you are a smoker or vaper, you will likely get a bacterial plaque. 

• Gingivitis –Smoking cause tartar and plaque development, which leads to an irritation known as gingivitis. When the smoker’s gums become infected, they have difficulty recovering as smoking causes reduced oxygen in the bloodstream. Reduced oxygen may negatively affect your gum health. 

• Gum disease – Smokers have slow wound recovering abilities than non-smokers. This means that gingivitis swiftly develops into gum disease. Smokers have a three and a half times increased risk of building gum disease compared to non-smokers. Smoking may contribute to receding gums and tooth loss.

Now that you know how smoking affects your gums let us understand how smoking affects your dental restorations.

Smoking and Dental Restorations

Smoking harms dental restoration’s success and lifespan, such as dental crowns and dental implants.

• Dental restoration health – Smokers get gum recession because of gingivitis. Gum diseases can also cause uneven margins on crowns and various restorations. 

• Dental implant failure – Studies indicate that smokers have an increased failure rate for dental implants. Experts believe that the gums close to the implant continually exposed to tobacco smoke can contribute to implant failure. 

• Dental restoration appearance – Smoking dulls the look of your crowns, bonding, fillings, and dentures. While porcelain is the most durable material used for crowns and veneers, it can still be damaged. Over time, tobacco smoke can stain them, and they lose their bright appearance.

The right thing you can do for your oral health is to stop smoking. Consult your specialist to enter a smoking cessation program. Together with your dental clinic in Kodambakkam, you can learn about how to recover your oral health.