How e-cigarettes Affect our Teeth

Recently, e-cigarettes have grown in popularity – to the extent that the anti-smoking group Ash believes that over 2.6 million people, almost half of which are ex-smokers, in the UK alone use them. However, while they are generally considered much healthier than standard cigarettes, can they still be considered kind to our teeth?

An enduring mystery – in many respects, anyway…

When considering the effects of e-cigarettes on our teeth, it’s sensible to think about both the direct and indirect effects. So, how can these personal vaporisers, as they are sometimes otherwise referred to, directly affect our teeth?

The honest answer is that we can’t be certain. This can be blamed on both a lack of research into the health implications of e-cigarettes, but also the fact that they are still a relatively new product – meaning that studies can currently only look at the short term effects. There is anecdotal evidence that these vaporisers might not directly impact teeth at all – but it’s a very different story concerning the indirect effects…

Nicotine: the easy-to-overlook threat to your teeth

The family and sleep medicine dentist Dr. Mark Burhenne has observed on his dental health advice website Ask the Dentist that e-cigarettes can harm the teeth in a number of indirect ways. For example, he notes that, while e-cigarettes don’t contain tobacco and, therefore, don’t inflict many types of health damage associated with tobacco, they still contain nicotine. Nicotine, he adds, can deliver research-proven harm to the mouth and gums.

Nicotine can pose a big dental problem because it is a vasoconstrictor; in other words, it reduces the amount of blood that the veins can transport throughout the body. Poor blood flow could mean the gums getting insufficient oxygen and nutrients – which, in turn, can lead gum tissues to die. The gums would recede, risking the security of their hold on the teeth and so potentially causing tooth loss. Nicotine can also inhibit saliva production – increasing susceptibility to tooth decay – and encourage teeth grinding.

Some final words of advice…

So, despite the health improvements that we could benefit from as a result of switching from standard cigarettes to e-cigarettes, our best bet for keeping our teeth in good condition would be completely keeping away from cigarettes. Prevention, as the common saying goes, is better than cure – and we at BF Mulholland offer an array of useful dental products that can help to prevent tooth decay or loss.