The Effects of Smoking on Your Teeth

While the 100,000 UK deaths a year that can be directly attributed to smoking are greatly saddening in themselves, it is also important not to underestimate the many other, not necessarily fatal but nonetheless greatly adverse effects that tobacco can have on  your body and all-round health.

As you may expect, here at BF Mulholland, we are especially well-positioned to advise you on the consequences that smoking has for your oral hygiene, ranging from tooth staining to gum disease and, connected to the latter, outright tooth loss.

Tooth staining

A yellowy appearance is one of the first visual effects of smoking on your teeth, with heavy smoking over a number of years potentially turning them almost brown. This staining can be attributed to the tobacco’s nicotine and tar content.

Unhealthy gums mean unhealthy teeth

Your gums and teeth are not unrelated entities – what is bad for one is so often bad for the other, as smoking has for so long demonstrated. If you smoke, you are more likely to produce the bacterial plaque that is responsible for gum disease.

Smoking is so detrimental to your gums because it results in your bloodstream not having sufficient oxygen, which prevents the infected gums from healing. Not only will you likely have more dental plaque as a smoker than non-smokers, but your gum disease may also deteriorate faster.

This, in turn, can lead to tooth loss, for which gum disease remains the leading cause. With half of gum disease cases in smokers attributable to smoking, if you suffer from it, you may not need to look too far to determine the exact cause.

The process by which smoking can cause tooth deterioration

Many people may not realise just how smoking can wreak its havoc on your gums and teeth, so let’s take you through the broader process. The first indicator to you that you are suffering from gum disease may be a recession of the gums that exposes the teeth’s roots, making them susceptible to tooth decay.

The gums can also become looser, worsening the problem due to the formation of pockets below and between your teeth into which food particles can so easily fall. Bacteria can nestle inside these pockets to feed on the decaying food, at which point, localised infections may begin to occur.

If your gums are allowed to continue deteriorating – as smoking can so easily facilitate – you could find yourself suffering from bad breath, mouth sores, cavities and infections. By this stage, plaque – the slimy, whitish film that develops on your teeth as a result of a lack of brushing – may be developing rapidly.

Should plaque be left in the mouth for a sufficiently long time, biofilm – a destructive bacterial coating on the teeth that cannot simply be brushed off – can easily develop, along with the hard, cement-like tartar that plagues the areas between the teeth and around the gums.

It’s vital not to be complacent about smoking

Although it is recommended that everyone sees their dentist at a regular interval of no longer than every two years, the greater risk posed to the teeth and gums by tobacco, and the consequent adverse effects for your oral hygiene that may already be observable, may lead your dentist to advise that you visit them more frequently, such as every three months.

Above all else, you should remember that the negative effects of smoking on the teeth can never be underestimated – no matter how good the rest of your oral hygiene routine may be.

If, meanwhile, you run a dental practice yourself, you may wish to turn to BF Mulholland for the very best teeth whitening and other dental products that will likely be greatly appreciated by the smokers among your patients.