We’re sorry to tell you that there’s only one foolproof way to avoid the effects of smoking on your mouth: don’t smoke.
How to fix smokers’ teeth
Smoking is terrible for your teeth and your overall health. It causes both cosmetic damage and more serious problems, such as gum disease, possible tooth loss and even mouth cancer.
In this article, we’ll look at what smoking can do to your teeth and oral health, how to treat any problems and why any smoker should really try to quit, or at least cut down, on their smoking.
The problems of tobacco on teeth
We know that tobacco is harmful to health, but do we know how it affects the mouth?
Tobacco produces brownish stains on the teeth that are aesthetically detrimental.
It also produces roughness in the enamel, which in turn allows bacteria to adhere more easily.
To this is added the decrease in salivation, producing a greater number of cavities due to the bacteria that remain longer in the teeth.
At the gum level, smokers are more at risk of developing periodontal disease, because nicotine decreases vascularization, greatly affecting the gums and the support of the teeth.
When placing implants in smokers, it has been seen that the osseointegration capacity decreases, failing its stability in a higher proportion than in non-smokers, besides increasing the risk of presenting peri-implantitis some time after having placed them. This is an inflammation around the implant, producing bone loss and, therefore, the loss of the implant.
As we said at the beginning, tobacco is harmful to health in general. At the level of the oral mucosa it can produce precancerous lesions that can lead to more serious damage.
Treatments for smokers’ teeth, do they exist?
It may not be what you want to hear, but the key to stopping the damage caused by smoking and reversing the effects of smoker’s teeth is undoubtedly to quit smoking. If you don’t see yourself being able to quit smoking completely, think that cutting down is one step and it helps too.
Quitting smoking
There is no doubt that smoking destroys oral health, not to mention the other effects of tobacco, and unfortunately, there is no easy cure that reverses all the side effects of smoking and keeps the mouth healthy while maintaining the habit.
Detect diseases early
Regular check-ups are a great ally: they allow you to detect any oral lesions in time, as well as symptoms of gum disease.
If you want to quit smoking and take care of your mouth, we can help you!
