Tobacco and Oral Health

By now, we all know that smoking and tobacco use are bad for your overall health. It can cause just as much trouble for your mouth, gums and teeth as it does your other parts of your body.

Short Term Effects

• Stained Teeth – Tobacco juices seep into the porous outer enamel of your teeth creating stains that are difficult to remove without extensive treatments
• Inflamed and bleeding gums – Tobacco use reduces blood flow to the gums which can cause the tissue to become distressed and more susceptible to the plaque forming bacterias in the mouth. Compromised gums are more likely to become inflamed and bleed especially when brushing and flossing.
• Gum disease – Unless measures are taken to counter inflamed and bleeding gums, conditions can worsen to the point of having serious gum disease.
• Tooth loss – Gum disease is still the most common cause of tooth loss in adults.

What can you do?
The first this is to stop using tobacco. Yes, this is a difficult thing to do, but like so many things in life, the tough things are the ones worth doing.

Have your teeth, gums, tongue and mouth evaluated. Our dentists know what to look for and will give you a clean bill of health or inform you of potential issues.

Next, if you have yellowed or stained teeth, we can help with treatments like ZOOM whitening, take home bleach kits, whitening pastes and more.

If you are missing teeth, we provide solutions for implants among other solutions for tooth loss.

Serious Long Term Oral Effects of Tobacco Use
Along with lung and throat cancer, smokers and tobacco users suffer from an abnormal rate of mouth cancer. Bottom line is that tobacco is bad news. Of course, as adults we have the freedom to make our own decisions, but tobacco use seems to be a no-brainer. In some scenarios mouth cancer can lead to surgical removal of portions of your lips, jaw, cheeks and tongue. The risk is simply not worth the pain, suffering and life-altering effect that tobacco use can have on your life.

Tobacco is Serious Business
Friends, tobacco is serious business and our goal is to help our patients live happy, healthy lives with beautiful, happy and healthy smiles. We are here for more than your regular cleaning. We are here to ensure that your mouth, teeth and gums are as healthy, strong and well taken care of as our own.

Don’t wait until your teeth are falling out. The time to act is now. Get the healthy and happy smile you deserve. Give us a call at 281-602-3940 or click here to schedule an appointment.