You most likely know that cigarettes are unhealthy for your lungs and many other bodily systems. This includes your teeth and mouth as well. Cigarettes can cause staining and further damage to your teeth and can even lead to oral cancer. Here’s what you need to know about how cigarette smoking affects your teeth and mouth.
How Smoking Cigarettes Damage Your Teeth and Mouth
When you inhale from a cigarette, you flood your mouth with smoke, tobacco and nicotine. The most obvious negative effect of this, is that your teeth can become stained, leaving them looking yellow or brown as opposed to bright white. While your Donvale dentist can apply whitening treatments to help remove the staining, the results won’t last if you continue to smoke, as you’ll be staining your teeth all over again with each additional cigarette.
In addition to staining your teeth, cigarette smoke can have deeper effects. For starters, it weakens your immune system, which can make it more difficult for your body to fight off any infections. This can leave you more prone to gum disease, bad breath, tooth loss and other dental complications. Nicotine also reduces saliva production. Saliva is necessary for removing bacteria from around your teeth, so if your body doesn’t produce enough, the bacteria stays in your mouth, making it even more susceptible to disease. Your dentist in Donvale can treat gum disease, but it will likely keep coming back if you keep smoking.
Finally, smoking can affect your taste buds. While this may not seem like a big deal, taste is an important sense. It enhances your enjoyment of the food you are eating while also helping you identify foods that may be past their prime.
Benefits of Quitting Smoking
Although quitting smoking won’t reverse the negative effects immediately, it can prevent additional damage to your teeth. After you have quit smoking completely, you can work with your Donvale dentist to restore your oral health as much as possible. This can include repairing or replacing damaged teeth, treating gum disease and whitening your teeth. While you may not be able to go back to the perfectly healthy teeth you once had, your dentist in Donvale can certainly help you come as close as possible.
Seek Help From Your Dentist in Donvale
Seek Help From Your Dentist in DonvaleAt Holistic Dental Donvale, our dentists have worked with countless patients who are current or former smokers and can help you as well. Reach out to our team today to schedule an appointment with a Donvale dentist, to assess the health of your teeth and review your treatment options. Call today to get started.
