You should be stressed about the harmful effects caused by smoking on your teeth. What, then, makes it harmful to you? What specifically harms your teeth when you smoke? Smoking has effects on your mouth before it has effects on your lungs, which you are probably already aware of.
What Affects Your Teeth When You Smoke?
The first point of access into your body is through your mouth. Most likely, you aren’t considering how smoking will harm your teeth when you light up a cigarette and take that first puff. Smoking has an impact on your teeth’s general health and appearance.
Discolored teeth
If you smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, your chances of keeping naturally white teeth are gone. It’s crucial to think of your teeth as a porcelain vase. Your teeth’s enamel functions essentially like a porcelain finish with tiny flaws. These cracks absorb everything you put in your mouth as you become older and utilise your teeth for many years.
The nicotine and tar in cigarettes soak into the cracks when you smoke them and settle there over time. You can’t simply sweep them away. Tooth stains are the result of more than just bad brushing practises. Because of the nicotine and tar in cigarettes, you will also develop plaque and tartar on your teeth. If you smoke frequently, you’ll need teeth whitening to keep your smile bright white.
What Role Does Smoking Play in Tooth Loss?
If you smoke frequently, your chances of keeping your natural teeth are reduced for a number of reasons.
Process of Delayed Healing
The amount of oxygen in your blood decreases when you smoke. It’s critical to keep in mind that your body needs oxygen to mend itself. A persistent smoker will heal more slowly and endure a lengthier recovery time if they develop oral illness or dental disorders that call for surgical operations (tooth extractions, dental implants, root canals, etc.). Smokers run the risk of developing an infection as well because smoking may prevent your gums from healing properly.
Increasing Propensity for Gum Disease
Adult tooth loss is most frequently caused by gum disease, and smoking is a key contributing factor. In chronic smokers, gum disease advances more quickly. As a result, smokers frequently have tooth loss in addition to having a lower success rate with dental implant surgeries than non-smokers.
Development of Gum Disease
It’s crucial to keep in mind that gum disease starts with bacterial development in your mouth, whether you smoke or not. Smoking will raise your chances of developing gum disease because you’re regularly introducing bacteria with cigarettes, even if you don’t have a hereditary predisposition to the condition.
Plaque starts to form while you smoke, and the amount of bacteria grows. When you clean your teeth, you might see more blood on your toothbrush or in your saliva as a result of your inflamed gums.
Gingivitis
Gingivitis, a frequent gum disease, begins with this. When gingivitis is not properly treated, it develops into periodontitis, which is a more serious form of gum disease. The inner layer of the gum and bone start to pull away from the teeth due to periodontitis. After that, pockets develop between the gum and teeth.
Infection begins to develop as bacteria and debris start to accumulate in those areas. The immune system begins to work at full capacity to fight the illness in non-smokers at this point. However, a smoker’s immune system is weakened, which makes it possible for the infection to develop and advance below the gum line.
The bone and connective tissue that hold your teeth in place are all suffering at this stage. Your bone and connective tissue are destroyed by the toxins that the bacteria create. At this point, as the bone and tissue are gradually eroded, you might start to see loose teeth. Your teeth frequently start to come out because they have no anchor to hold them in place.
The “smoking gun” of tooth loss is cigarettes. Cigarettes don’t cause tooth decay; but, they do induce decay in the structures that attach your teeth to your jaw. Your body’s immune is weakened, making it unable to fight off the infections that cause this erosion.
What if you’re unable to stop smoking?
There are a lot of negative effects of smoking on your teeth. It has an impact on your mouth as well. So why not simply give up? Look at the next best alternative if you have repeatedly tried to stop smoking but failed. Your dental health will be much improved, and you may even be able to save some of your teeth, if you make a commitment to cut back on your regular smoking. It’s also crucial to schedule routine dental visits. They can assist you in finding methods to combat gum disease, which results in tooth loss.
Stop Smoking to Protect Your Teeth
What harms are caused by smoking on your teeth, then? While smoking undoubtedly has a negative influence on your teeth, the oral structures (gums and jawbone) that support your teeth have the most negative effects.
