Smoking is a common habit that impacts your oral and general health. It has been linked to some of the most dangerous oral and general health conditions, including oral cancer and gum disease. If you smoke, you are at a higher risk of suffering tooth loss, gum problems, and complications after undergoing oral surgery or tooth extraction. You are also at a higher risk of developing mouth cancer. People who smoke can easily suffer from infections that do not heal or take a long time to heal.

That is why smoking is the number one habit that dentists will advise you to quit. Quitting improves oral health and any severe oral condition, whether oral cancer or periodontal disease. Quitting also enhances your body’s ability to respond to treatment and fight diseases or infections.

Visiting your dentist regularly for regular dental checkups and teeth cleaning is advisable. But if you still smoke, you are still at a high risk of suffering severe oral health conditions. Here are some of the reasons why smoking is damaging to your teeth:

Smoking Increases The Risk of Gum Disease

Gum disease is a severe oral condition that affects your gums, teeth, and underlying structures in your mouth. The infection can spread to the rest of the body if left untreated. It is among the leading causes of tooth loss in most adults. The disease spreads as an infection that destroys the jaw bone, gum tissues, and other structures supporting your teeth. Once the bone and underlying structures are affected, you will experience pain when eating or chewing and could start losing your teeth.

Gum disease occurs due to food debris in your mouth. When you eat, some food particles remain in your mouth. Regular brushing and flossing remove food debris, keeping your mouth clean and safe. If you neglect regular oral hygiene, oral bacteria combine with food debris to cause dental plaque that sticks to your gums and teeth. The plaque eventually becomes tartar, or calculus, when it hardens, inflames your gums, and quickly spreads to other parts of your mouth.

The smoke from cigarettes and other tobacco products also forms tartar or calculus on your teeth and gums, just the same as plaque from food debris. The inflammation starts slowly, from gingivitis, and spreads quickly and intensively to become a severe oral condition called gum disease or periodontitis. If you do not treat the condition early enough, it can affect the structures holding your teeth, causing them to shift, become wobbly, and eventually fall out.

Tooth loss is a severe issue that can affect you in various ways. It is advisable to prevent it as much as you can. Losing your back teeth will affect how you chew food, and losing your front teeth will affect your appearance, eating, and speaking. Teeth also support your facial muscles, giving you a beautiful appearance. Losing teeth causes your facial muscles to sag, impacting your look and feel.

Smoking Increases The Risk of Oral Cancer

Oral cancer is also a severe health problem that affects structures inside your mouth and your overall health. Oral cancer affects various parts of your mouth, including your cheeks, tongue, floor, or roof of the mouth or lips. It starts slowly and spreads very quickly. Smoking is a risk factor for oral cancer. Dentists report that people who smoke are at a greater risk of developing oral cancer than those who do not. Those who quit smoking reduce that risk significantly.

People who smoke develop cancer mainly on the side of their tongue, lips, and the upper or lower floor of their mouth. However, the disease can develop in any part of the mouth. You need early detection and a proper diagnosis to start treatment immediately after you develop the disease. Otherwise, cancer spreads very quickly and can reach dangerous levels in no time. Fortunately, treatments are available for all oral cancers, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery.

Here are some of the signs that you could have oral cancer:

  • You have a persistent but non-painful ulcer in the mouth or lip that does not go away after a few days
  • You have developed some red or white patches in the mouth
  • You have swelling in the mouth
  • If you have dentures, they suddenly stop fitting well

Smoking Slows Your Healing After Treatment

Healing is essential after oral treatment, restoring your mouth’s full function. Prolonged healing means you will not eat, smile, or speak normally for long. Smoking affects how your body responds to dental treatment. It slows your body’s natural healing ability by reducing your immune system’s ability to fight oral infections.

For example, if you undergo a tooth extraction, you rely on your immune system for the treatment site to heal quickly to restore the lost look and enjoy your mouth’s functionality once more. If the treatment site becomes infected, your immune system’s response will be slow if you smoke. It means that it will take your body longer to fight the infection.

Additionally, smoking can result in a dry socket, which slows the healing process further and causes the infection site to be harrowing. It increases your chances of experiencing more pain when undergoing gum or oral surgery. If you undergo dental implant installation, your chances of success are reduced if you are a smoker.

It is necessary to understand these risks if you consume tobacco and take the necessary precautions before or immediately after dental treatment. Speaking to your dentist if you experience treatment complications for advice and medical intervention is advisable.

Smoking Causes Smoker’s Keratosis

Also called nicotine stomatitis or smoker’s palate, smoker’s keratosis is an oral condition that affects your oral cavity. It mainly affects people who smoke tobacco or use tobacco products in any other way. The condition develops on the mucous membrane of your oral cavity, like the gums, cheeks, or tongue. It causes the soft tissues in your mouth to whiten.

A smoker’s keratosis occurs when you chronically expose the tissues in your oral cavity to chemicals in tobacco and heat. Repeated exposure results in the irritation and inflammation of soft tissues in your mouth, causing you to develop whitish or grayish patches in the mucous membrane, including the tongue, gums, and palate. Chemicals in tobacco include nicotine, tar, and other carcinogens that damage soft tissues in the mouth. They impair the tissue’s function and increase their chances of mutation, which could result in cancer.

The common symptoms to watch out for are the white or gray patches in the oral cavity. These patches can differ in size and shape, as some appear thick, others raised, and others rough. You could also experience a burning or numbing sensation in your mouth before the appearance of these patches. Some reddish spots could appear on your palate before or after the white or gray patches. Other symptoms to look out for include the following:

  • Pain or discomfort when eating acidic, spicy, or hot foods
  • Swelling or thickening of oral tissues
  • Dry or rough feeling in your oral cavity.

Smoking Causes Tooth Decay

Tooth decay is a common dental issue that could result in tooth loss if not treated on time. It mainly occurs when oral bacteria convert sugar from food debris into energy, producing an acid that damages the enamel. Even though the enamel is solid, it wears down with time if subjected to continuous corrosion by this acid.

Smoking is one of the major causes of tooth decay. The smoke from smoking and other chemicals from tobacco create a layer on the tooth’s surface, which produces a dangerous acid when it combines with bacteria to cause decay. The decay starts with a single dark spot on the tooth and develops into a large cavity or hole.

Human saliva forms a protective barrier on natural teeth against decay. Your saliva can also repair decay in the early stages. But smoking dries up your mouth, leaving your teeth with little or no protection against this dangerous acid. That is why you are at a higher risk of having tooth cavities if you smoke. Since smokers have less saliva and a generally drier mouth than non-smokers, their risk of developing cavities is higher.

A healthy diet and regular oral hygiene are some ways you can prevent cavities. But your dentist will recommend quitting if you smoke to stay safe from tooth decay. Once the bacteria affects one tooth, it can spread to other teeth over time. The infection can also spread to your teeth’s underlying structures, necessitating root canal therapy. If much of the tooth is affected, your dentist will recommend extraction and dental restoration, which can be very expensive.

Smoking Stains Your Teeth

Teeth discoloration and stains are a severe problem affecting many people, especially smokers. Human teeth are naturally beautiful, but they change color over time due to several factors, including what you eat and bad habits like smoking. Even though your teeth were not pearly white when you were young, they were more beautiful and healthier than they appear, especially if you smoke. Prolonged exposure to heat and dangerous chemicals from tobacco causes natural teeth to appear yellowish. That affects how your teeth look and how you feel about yourself.

The color of your teeth will likely change when you smoke, even with regular brushing and flossing. Dentists offer professional teeth cleaning for discolored teeth to restore their look and your esteem. Continuous smoking will worsen the situation. Dentists recommend quitting as a significant way to prevent teeth discoloration and ensure you have healthy and functional teeth.

Smoking also gives you bad breath, popularly known as halitosis. A bad breath will affect your smile, confidence, and self-esteem. The problem does not go away after using expensive mouthwashes, provided you continue smoking.

When you quit smoking, your dentist can thoroughly clean your teeth to remove the buildup that caused the discoloration. Your mouth will no longer be dry, which is the main reason for halitosis among smokers.

Steps To Take to Quit Smoking

Dentists and health care professionals encourage smokers to quit as the only way to enjoy good oral health and overall well-being. Your general health is impacted when you have an oral health issue. For example, an infection in the mouth can affect your general health. The infection can spread through the bloodstream to other body parts, causing additional health issues. Quitting is an excellent idea, but it can be difficult, especially for people who have smoked for years. Here are some steps you can take to stop this bad habit:

Prepare yourself to quit. You must be physically, emotionally, and psychologically ready to start the journey.

You could need a support system, especially at the beginning. You can ask your family, friends, or a healthcare professional to support you during that period.

You will need some distractions to keep your mind occupied so that you can alleviate the urges once you experience them. For example, you can work out or focus on a particular hobby. Meditation helps a lot to keep your mind in perspective and help you deal with the underlying issues that trigger the smoking urges.

The doctor can recommend medication if necessary. They can write you a prescription or advise you on over-the-counter medicines you can try.

Be prepared for setbacks and plan how you will deal with them. Recognizing that setbacks could happen is necessary, but that does not mean you should stop trying.

Find a Competent Dentist Near Me

Tobacco is a dangerous product that will likely damage your teeth and your general health. It can stain your teeth, cause you to have bad breath, increase your chances of oral cancer and gum disease, and affect the appearance, health, and functionality of your teeth. You need beautiful, solid, and healthy teeth to smile, eat, speak, and have a lovely facial appearance. Once your teeth are impacted, your overall well-being is also affected. That is why dentists recommend quitting as one of the ways you can alleviate some of the most severe oral health issues.

But quitting can be challenging, especially if it has been your habit for years. You need help, guidance, and support to quit smoking and enjoy good oral health and overall well-being. Our dentists at La Puente Advanced Dentistry are here to offer support, advice, and any help you need at La Puente. We also provide quality and reliable dental care services for your entire family. Call us at 626-626-7075 for help and more information about smoking and dental health.