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Does Smoking Increase Dental Disease?

By Reno Laser Dentistry

February 08, 2012

Category: dentist reno

Tags: Reno Dentist Reno Dental Reno Laser Dentist Oral Health and Smoking Oral Care and Disease

Yes, we all know what smoking can do to your health, but what about your oral health? If you are a smoker have you given it much thought to what effects may be happening inside your mouth? Below is a great article on the dangers of tobacco and at the same time a good reason to think about why am I smoking? Think about the long-term effects!

According to an article at perio.org, “here’s a great incentive for smokers to kick the habit, fewer problems with your teeth.”

“Surprising as it may sound, many smokers need to be made more aware of the dangers of tobacco use. In fact, just 29 percent of smokers say they believe themselves to be at an above-average risk for heart attack compared with their nonsmoking peers, according to a study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association in March of 1999.

Obviously, while information about the medical problems associated with smoking – such as lung disease, cancer, heart disease and low-birth-weight infants – is widely available; many smokers seem to have tuned out.

If you are a smoker who is concerned about the effects smoking can have on your health, congratulations! By accessing information about the negative impacts of tobacco use, you are taking the first step toward quitting.

To increase awareness of the dangers of smoking, the American Cancer Society sponsors the Great American Smokeout every year in November. Americans are encouraged to quit smoking for a day or to encourage someone else to quite for a day. The idea is to help someone be smoke-free for a day in hopes of motivating that person to quit forever.

The American Academy of Periodontology wants you to understand yet another good reason to quit: Tobacco use is harmful to oral health.

Time to Quit

In conjunction with the Great American Smokeout, the American Academy of Periodontology hopes to help educate the public about one specific threat to smokers – periodontal disease. Recent studies have shown that tobacco use may be one of the most significant risk factors in the development and progression of periodontal disease. In addition, following periodontal treatment or any type of oral surgery, the chemicals in tobacco can slow down the healing process and make the treatment results less predictable.

How does smoking increase your risk for periodontal disease? As a smoker, you are more likely than nonsmokers to have the following problems:

Calculus – plaque that hardens on your teeth and can only be removed during a professional cleaning
Deep pockets between your teeth and gums
Loss of the bone and tissue that support your teeth

If the calculus is not removed during a professional cleaning, and it remains below your gum line, the bacteria in the calculus can destroy your gum tissue and cause your gums to pull away from your teeth. When this happens, periodontal pockets form and fill with disease-causing bacteria.

If left untreated, periodontal disease will progress. The pockets between your teeth and gums can grow deeper, allowing in more bacteria that destroy tissue and supporting bone. As a result, the gums may shrink away from the teeth making them look longer. Without treatment, your teeth may become loose, painful and even fall out.”

Click here to read the entire article:

If you have any questions or need to find a dentist that can help you with this issue contact Dr. McElhinney’s office located in Reno, he can go over the risk that involve smoking and how to improve your oral health.