Tobacco Use Can Affect Your Teeth and Gums

Are you, or is someone you love, a tobacco user?  Tobacco use can have a dramatic affect on your teeth and gums, and if you are chewing or smoking tobacco, even if it is just the occasional cigar, your teeth and gums could pay the price.

According to Dr. Elzbieta W.Basil, DMD, CTNOW.com’s 2016 Best Dentist Hartford County, tobacco use can do more than stain your teeth.

Tobacco use can also cause:

• Mouth cancer
• Delays in orthodontic treatments
• Poor healing following oral surgery
• Gum disease
• Tooth decay
• Gum recession
• Dental implant failure
• Tooth Loss

Oral Health and Smoking

Every time you pull out a cigarette or open that tin of tobacco consider what it is doing to your teeth, gums and your mouth. Cigarette smoke has over 4,800 chemicals with 69 of those chemicals known to cause deadly mouth cancer, not to mention what it is doing to your lungs and your heart. Chewing tobacco is even worse with companies adding sugar to flavor the tobacco. Sugar is the number one enemy when it comes to plaque and tartar.

Because the flow of blood to your gums is reduced when you smoke, you are more susceptible to gum disease. Smoking also reduces your Vitamin C levels, which are necessary for gum health.

Smoking also causes:

• Stained tongue and teeth
• Bad breath
• Dulled sense of smell and taste
• Wound healing delays
• Problems with orthodontic appliances
• Gum disease
• Oral cancer
• Bone loss
• Tooth loss

Chewing Tobacco will:

• Eat away at your gum line causing recession and eventual bone loss
• Put you at risk when it comes to tooth decay and gum disease
• Cause leathery white patches in your mouth that could be cancerous
• Create red sores in your mouth and on your tongue that could also be cancerous

Just like smoking, chewing tobacco use can cause bad breath. Every little pinch you take is clinging to your tongue, the sides of your cheeks, your gums, and your teeth. Brushing and flossing helps, but the best thing to do is skip the dip.

If you are a smoker, and would like a tooth and gum evaluation, call or click and schedule an appointment with Dr. Elzbieta W. Basil, DMD with offices in West Hartford Center and Downtown New Britain, CT.  Once you get an idea of how tobacco is affecting your teeth and gums, you may finally have the courage to quit the habit.

Call or click for a dental appointment with Dr. Elzbieta W. Basil, DMD today, and kick the tobacco-use habit once and for all.

Keep Smiling,
 
Dr. Elzbieta W. Basil, DMD is a private practice dentist with offices in West Hartford Center and Downtown New Britain, Connecticut.  She is a Clinical Instructor at the UConn School of Dental Medicine, and has won several awards naming her regional “Best Dentist” and “Top Dentist.” She is an active member of the Connecticut State Dental Association and the American Dental Association. Tel: 860-561-2121