Whether smoking is a consistent habit of yours, or you've never smoked in your life, the topic of how smoking can affect your health is important to discuss. It is common knowledge that smoking is detrimental to the overall health of your body, but is it bad news for your teeth, too?
Our Team Wants You to Be Informed
Our friendly team at Gary Johnson DDS Family & Cosmetic Dentistry is dedicated to providing our patients with honest and comprehensive information in order for them to make well-informed decisions about their oral health. In this post, we'll explain how smoking can cause bad breath, severely discolor your teeth, and weaken your ability to fight off bacteria in your mouth.
1. Bad Breath
Even after the cigarette is put out, particles from the smoke and cigarette will linger in your mouth, throat, and lungs. This debris can contribute to unsavory smoker's breath, that can't always be cured with a breath mint or a mouthrinse. Smoking also slows your production of saliva, which will aggravate dry mouth and increase your risk for tooth decay, both contributing to bad breath.
2. Severe Tooth Discoloration
The nicotine and tar in tobacco will paint your teeth yellow in record time. In fact, some heavy smokers have seen their teeth turn from white to yellow to brown. Not only does smoking tarnish the color of your teeth, but it also creates lines around your lips that can make you lose your youthful appearance.
3. Weakened Immunity
Tobacco diminishes your mouth's infection-fighting power and throws off your mouth's pH balance. Because of this, bacteria can quickly multiply in your mouth. The influx of bacteria can lead to plaque and tartar buildup, yellower teeth, increased risk of infection, a greater possibility of needing a root canal, tooth loss, worn down enamel, bleeding and receding gums, dry mouth, pain when chewing, and more. There are quite a lot of drawbacks to drawing in smoke!
We Encourage You to Avoid or Quit Smoking
The health of your mouth is our top priority! Our professional team at Gary Johnson DDS Family & Cosmetic Dentistry won't push you into quitting smoking. However, we encourage all our patients to consider the potential damage to your oral health (and your overall body) if you start or continue smoking.
If you have any other comments or questions on the topic of smoking, contact us today!