Periodontal Gum Disease and the Dangers of Smoking

Researches have found that the following problems occur more often in people who use tobacco products: Bad breath, oral cancer, stained teeth, tooth loss, loss of taste, bone loss, gum recession, mouth soars and facial wrinkling. This research also proves less success with periodontal treatments among smokers.

There are also other medical problems associated with smoking including lung disease, cancer, heart disease and low-birth-weight infants.

Smokers concerned about the effects that tobacco can have on your health, gums, and teeth in particular, will at least learn all the negative impacts of tobacco use, once they have read this article.

According to the American Academy of Periodontology recent studies have shown that tobacco use may be one of the most significant risk factors in the development and progression of periodontal disease. And following periodontal treatment or any oral surgery, the chemicals in tobacco can slow down the healing process. Treatment results are therefore less predictable.

Here are some of the ways that one Los Angeles dentist who specializes in periodontal gum disease and oral implants believes smoking increases your risk for periodontal problems. "Smokers as opposed to nonsmokers are more apt to have calculus, or plaque, which hardens on teeth," said Dr. Bijan Afar. "When calculus is not removed it often remains below your gum line, and the bacteria in the calculus can destroy your gum tissue and cause gums to pull away from your teeth."

Smokers are also more apt to get deep pockets between the teeth and gums and they also have loss of the bone and tissue that supports teeth. Periodontal disease gets worse when the pockets between the teeth and gums grow deep, which allows bacteria to destroy the gum tissue and bones. Your gums may shrink away from your teeth and if you are not treated by a periodontist, your teeth may become loose and fall out. Research proves that smokers lose more teeth than nonsmokers. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 20 percent of people over age 65 who have never smoked are toothless, while a whopping 41.3 percent of daily smokers over age 65 are toothless.

Research shows that smokers don't heal as well after periodontal treatments as. But these effects are reversible if the smokers kick the habit before beginning treatment.

Furthermore, all tobacco products can be harmful to periodontal health, such as smokeless tobacco (nicotine gum products) also can cause gums to recede and increase the chance of losing the bone and fibers that hold your teeth in place. In a study of cigar and pipe smokers that was published in January, 1999 in the Journal of the American Dental Association it was stated that cigar smokers experience tooth loss and alveolar bone loss at rates equivalent to those of cigarette smokers. Pipe smokers experience tooth loss at a rate similar to cigarette smokers.