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:

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.

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.

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.

Dry Mouth - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Dry mouth in a technical term called Xerostomia. It is the condition in which there is decrease in saliva secretions in mouth. Saliva secretions removes the plaques or food materials from mouth and prevents dental problems. Dry mouth is commonly seen in old people. If it is untreated, it leads to other oral problems like tooth decay and gum problems.

This article provides you complete information about dry mouth causes, signs and how it can be treated.

Causes of dry mouth

• Taking medications which decreases the saliva secretions
• Side effects of some drug categories like anti hypertensive drugs, Diuretics etc.
• Side effects of diseases like HIV, Anemia, Diabetes
• Dry mouth can be seen in patients who are undergoing radiation treatment on neck, head
• Due to hormonal changes in pregnant women
• Removal of salivary glands by surgery
• Taking breath continuously with mouth.
• Dehydration- loss of water or fluids from body causes dry mouth.

Symptoms of dry mouth

• Alterations in the taste sensation
• Dryness of mouth
• Irritation on tongue
• Bad odor from mouth
• Sticking of food to teeth and mouth
• Sores or patches in mouth
• Difficulty in chewing, drinking and speaking.

How it is diagnosed?

• Saometry is used to measure the flow of saliva in particular period of time. In this 10% citric acid is placed on the tongue and check the stimulation of saliva flow with the normal saliva flow.

• Salography uses radio opaque iodine dye on salivary gland and checks for any blockage of salivary duct.

• Other tests like chest X-ray and salivary biopsy can also diagnose the dry mouth condition.

Treatment
Based on the cause it's treatment varies. If dry mouth is due to the side effect of medications then these can be substituted with the other medications. However, dry mouth can be treated by two ways, saliva stimulation and saliva substitution.

• Saliva stimulation
• If salivary gland is working properly, then saliva stimulation is used to treat dry mouth.
• Chewing sugar free gums to increase saliva flow
• Drink plenty of water
• Take medications like prilocarpine which improves saliva secretions
• Avoid breathing with mouth.

• Saliva Substitution
• Rinsing mouth with mouth wash does not containing alcohol makes mouth moist
• Take saliva substitutes
• Drink plenty of water
• Avoid intake of caffeine
• Moistening the mouth and lips with melting the ice in mouth

Problems associated with dry mouth:
If the dry mouth is untreated, it can cause serious dental problems

• Tooth decay
• Periodontal diseases
• Oral thrush

Nursing Bottle Caries/Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

Tooth decay in infants and young children is referred to as nursing bottle caries. This happens when there is prolonged exposure of infant's teeth to liquids that contains sugar (milk, formula or fruit juice).
This article discusses about the causes, symptoms, treatment and prevention of baby bottle tooth decay.

Causes of baby bottle tooth decay
Nursing bottle caries can occur when the baby is put to bed with the bottle containing milk or other sweetened liquids like juice. Bacteria in the mouth live to digest sugary and starchy food or drinks multiply and form acid. This acid attacks the enamel of tooth/teeth gradually dissolving other layers of tooth resulting in tooth decay.
The upper front teeth are more susceptible to get decayed from baby bottles.

Symptoms

• White or brown spots appearing on teeth
• Pain
• Swelling and bleeding gums
• Fever caused by gum or tooth infection

Prevention
Following are some tips for preventing tooth decay in children:

• After every bottle-feed, clean your child's gums and teeth gently with a soft cloth or a gauze pad. This will help in removing any bacteria that contains plaque and excess sugars that may have built up.
• Begin to brush your baby's tooth as soon as his/her first tooth erupts.
• When all the baby's teeth have erupted, use a pea size amount of toothpaste for brushing the baby's teeth prescribed by your dentist.
• If your child is using pacifier, make sure that it is clean and sterlized. Never dip it in honey or other sugars.
• Never put your child to bed with a bottle that contains sweetened liquids or the liquids that contains natural sugars like milk, formula or fruit juice.
• Begin encouraging your child to drink from a cup from six months onwards.
• Arrange regular dental checkups as soon as your baby’s first tooth erupts.
• Encourage healthy eating habits.
• Supervise your child's tooth brushing until the age of 5-6 years.

Treatment
For treating this kind of decay, the dentist will remove the decayed portion from the tooth/teeth and fills the cavity with a material called as composite resin or silver amalgam, thus restoring and protecting the tooth. If the decay is severe and has attacked the tooth pulp, the dentist will perform the root canal treatment.

If the decay is caught earlier, there is no need of root canal treatment. This is the reason why dentist recommends visiting them regularly.

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What Is Meant By Orthodontics?

Orthodontics is the branch of science and the art of dentistry which deals with the study and treatment of improper bites, straightening of teeth, maintenance of posture, management of irregularities and abnormalities of teeth.

Or it can also be explained as a branch of dentistry which deals with the positional anomalies of the teeth and the jaws as they affect oral health and the physical, esthetic and mental well being of the person. Preventive, imperceptive, corrective and surgical are some of the activities which cover all the aspects of orthodontics. Mainly this dentistry is for the alignment of improper teeth.

Due to tooth decay and periodontal disease, there will be a situation where it causes extra stress on the chewing muscles that can lead to headaches, neck, shoulder and back pain. Crooked teeth are harder to keep clean. To avoid all these problems, orthodontic treatment is necessary and can be done by a specialist called orthodontist.

Orthodontics uses the fixed or removable appliances like braces, head gear, chin cups etc., to treat improper position of the teeth, and sometimes it also takes the help of oral and maxillofacial surgery methods for the major correction of jaws to prevent severe pains by concentrating on the maintenance of oral, mental and physical health of the patients.

The benefits of orthodontic treatment include a healthier mouth, a more pleasing appearance, and teeth that are more likely to last a lifetime.