Does Smoking Stain Teeth?

Everyone knows that smoking is seriously harmful to your body. With every breath you inhale thousands of deadly, dangerous and carcinogenic chemicals into your lungs. Smoking causes yellowing of your teeth, bad breathand dental disease.

Smoking is a leading cause of heart attack, stroke, lung disease and cancer and is a major risk factor for gum disease. Periodontal disease is a more severe and advanced form of gum recession, which damages both the gums and the bones that support the teeth.

Smoking deprives the body of antioxidants, increases the toxic load and creates high levels of free radicals and inflammation in the body. Free radicals oxidize, damage and age your cells.

Smoking Causes Gum Disease

Smoking severely alters the oral environment and many smokers have no warning signs of gum disease, such as bleeding gums. This is because smoking reduces the blood supply to peripheral tissues, including the gums. Smoking depletes and destroys oxygen tissues and leads to changes in the oral environment in a way that really harmful bacteria can reproduce much faster than protective or, in other words, good bacteria.

Usually when there is active gum disease, the gum tissues appear swollen, puffy and bright red in color and bleed more easily. In smokers, the gums are pale and thin, almost white with deep purple areas where the tissues are chronically inflamed and the gums cannot bleed.

The effect of smoking on your health and gums creates a vicious cycle; as your health deteriorates, so does your gum health. Gum health is worsened by an increased flow of bacteria, pus and toxins from the gum tissues into the body. This also increases the risk of health problems related to gum disease.

Nicotine Narrows Blood Vessels

Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor, meaning that it constricts blood vessels, which has the task of reducing blood circulation to the gums and tooth bone. The reduced blood supply masks the symptoms of gum disease and reduces the body’s ability to fight infection.

Much of the damage to gums and bone is invisible to the eye, and because early warning signs are limited, smokers are often unaware that they have a serious dental problem.

Nicotine also adversely affects saliva, leading to a thicker mucous membrane instead of the thinner, watery saliva that normally counteracts the acidic effects of a meal. This makes smokers more vulnerable to tooth decay.

Smoking Can Cause Oral Cancer

Smoking significantly increases the risk of oral cancer. It is the biggest risk factor for oral cancers.

Dentists regularly examine their patients for symptoms of oral cancer because this serious disease can have devastating consequences if not detected early.

It is recommended that all smokers undergo a comprehensive dental check-up, including dental hygiene checksevery 3 months and cancer screening every 6 months.

Harm of Smoking to Oral Health

Smokers are more likely to develop gum disease because smoking

• Changes in dental plaque bacteria
• Increases the level of harmful bacteria
• Reduces blood flow in the gums and tooth bones
• Changes saliva quality and fluidity
• Increases inflammation in the mouth and body
• Reduces antioxidants
• Reduces the body’s capacity to fight infection

Gum disease progresses faster in smokers than in non-smokers. Gum disease is the most important cause of tooth loss, especially in adult smokers. They are six times more likely to develop periodontal disease than non-smokers.

To summarize, smoking significantly increases the risk of serious gum disease, tooth stains, tooth decay, tooth loss and oral cancer. In order to get rid of the negative effects of smoking, you should quit smoking as soon as possible, eat right, and optionally redesign your smile with teeth whitening and aesthetic dental veneers, and you can look at life with a smile again.