Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Impact of Smoking on Oral Health

Smoking is one of the major cause for oral health problems. Smoking and other tobacco related products contains chemicals that are harmful to the oral cavity. The risk of oral health increases with the duration of smoking and chewing tobacco. Some of the oral health problems associated with smoking and chewing tobacco are:

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Bad breath
Smoking causes halitosis. Halitosis is a condition where there is bad odor from the mouth. Smoking decreases saliva secretions and this leads to the development of plaque and gives bad breath. Not only this, tobacco contains nicotine and tar settle on teeth and gives you bad breath.

Discoloration of teeth
Smoking causes stains on teeth which is due to the presence of nicotine and tar in tobacco products. This in turn leads to teeth becoming yellow.

Tooth decay
Tobacco products contains chemicals irritates the gum tissue and gums become recede. This leads to the exposure of tooth root and susceptible to plaque formation and leads to tooth decay.

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Gum problems
Smoking causes gum problems that includes gingivitis which is known as inflammation of gums and loss of bone below the teeth. Smoking reduces the flow of blood to the gum tissue and therefore lack of oxygen supply to the gum tissue and becomes susceptible to infections and leads to gum problems.

Slow downs the healing ability
Smoking and chewing tobacco slows down the healing ability of wounds after surgery or dental implantation. It interferes with the cells involved in the healing process and reduces the recovery period. In tooth extraction process, smoking causes dry sockets so patients experience severe pain and discomfort due to the exposure of bone and nerve endings.

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Oral cancer
Smoking causes oral cancer. The risk of oral cancer is more in candidates who smoke than candidates who never smoke. The tobacco products and smoking contains carcinogenic chemicals. These chemicals disrupts the DNA of gum tissue cells and irritates the mucous membrane and causes oral cancer.

Lack of taste sense
Loss of taste sense is caused by smoking as it reduces the saliva secretions and mouth becomes dry and reduces the taste sense.

Black hairy tongue
Black hairy tongue is due to the development of bacteria on tongue and causes small projections called papillae. This papillae appears like black hair on tongue. These are the dental problems associated with smoking. Though these can be treated, the best way to cure is by avoiding smoking and chewing tobacco.

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