Smoking And Oral Health – Advice From Your Ipswich Dentist

22 / 08 / 2017

Smoking And Oral Health – Advice From Your Ipswich Dentist

If You Still Smoke, Here Are Some Good Reasons To Quit

Sugar has, quite deservedly, earned the reputation of something to be minimised if you want to have healthy teeth. It is not the only culprit though and, although not affecting as many people as in years gone by, smoking can also have a devastating effect on your teeth and oral health in general.

At the Lighthouse Dental Practice in Ipswich, we believe in doing all that we can to help our patients have healthy mouths. Convincing them that stopping smoking will play an important part in this is essential. In today’s blog, we look at some of the damage that smoking can do, from a dental perspective.

Stained teeth

The most immediate and noticeable effect of smoking is the discolouration of your teeth that follows. Much of this is due to surface staining of the enamel from the tar in the cigarettes which can detract from what would otherwise be an attractive smile. Providing that the staining is not too severe, a fast-acting teeth whitening procedure can restore the whiteness of the teeth; however, more severe staining may require dental veneers which are used to replace the heavily stained surface enamel.

Gum disease

Gum disease can cause a number of symptoms; from bleeding and soreness of the gums, to degrading of the bone that holds the teeth in position. It is this later stage, known as periodontitis which can lead to tooth loss. Whilst other factors also come into play, smoking both irritate the gums and slows down any healing process that might be necessary. It also contributes to a dry mouth which provides a perfect breeding environment for harmful oral bacteria.

Oral cancers

Although not as well known as some other types of cancer, oral cancer should, of course, be taken very seriously. It can have devastating results if left untreated and can be fatal. As part of the regular oral health checks that your thorough Ipswich dentists perform, we not only examine your teeth and gums, but other soft tissues of the mouth too. Because of the nature of our work, we are in an excellent position to notice any potential signs that oral cancers may be present.

It is important to note here, that we are not cancer specialists and, because we recommend that you see your doctor for further investigation, does not mean that there is definitely a problem. There can be many reasons for red patches in the mouth for example. The important thing is that you get these checked out as soon as possible by your doctor. Should they prove to be problematic, early treatment will offer the best way to restore your mouth to good health.

f you still smoke, we strongly recommend that you stop as soon as you can. If you have already stopped and would like us to whiten your teeth or check the general condition of your mouth, please call the Lighthouse Dental Practice on 01473 257379.

We are here to help you.
If you would like to speak to a member of our friendly team about any of the issues in this article please visit our contact page or call us on 01473 257379.