Roseville is one of the best places to shop in California, but you cannot buy an easy cure if smoking has hurt your health. If you are a current or former smoker, you will probably have dental problems in the future. Some problems may be minor, but smokers are at risk for oral cancer and loosing teeth. Understanding how cigarettes hurt your mouth can help determine how many teeth you may lose and what else you might encounter.
How Does Smoking Hurt My Teeth?
The ingredients in tobacco destroy the cells in your body, which hinders blood flow, damages gum tissue and lowers your immune system. This makes it hard to fight the large amount of plaque a smoker has, and the plaque causes recession of the gums, bone detachment and infections.
How Many Teeth Will I Lose?
The amount of teeth you lose will depend on your dental habits and how much you smoke. The Academy of General Dentistry found that people who smoke a pack of cigarettes a day are likely to lose 4-5 teeth in a 17 year period, and those who smoke less than a pack a day are at risk for losing 1-2 teeth every ten years. This means that lifelong smokers could easily lose five or more teeth in their lifetimes.
Effects Of Smoking
Smoking does not instantly make your teeth fall out, but there are many signs when smoking begins to harm your teeth. Minor side effects will include bad breath, inflammation, tooth discoloration, loss of taste and plaque buildup. This is all the warning you will get before major problems could occur like gum disease, loss of bone in the jaw and oral cancer. Gum disease is what causes tooth loss, but all the effects make tooth extraction, oral surgery and using dental implants difficult.
Replacing Lost Teeth
While smokers lose teeth at a high rate, everyone loses teeth as they age. However, it is much easier to replace the teeth of nonsmokers. Dental implants are dangerous for smokers because they are more likely to develop infections and healing takes longer. Gum disease and loss of gum strength also means that dental implants may not be successful for smokers.
Are Smokeless Products Safer?
Smokeless cigarettes, gum and other products you ingest can help when quitting smoking. However, they still contain harmful chemicals and often include sugars to add flavor. They are not healthy long-term solutions and can still cause tooth loss.
You are likely to lose teeth if you are or were a frequent smoker, but you can be prepared by understanding the damage caused to your mouth, taking care of and monitoring your teeth and having a dentist ready for emergencies.