8 Dental and Mouth Problems Caused by Smoking Habits

Bumisuka.com – 8 Dental and Mouth Problems Caused by Smoking Habits. As we know, smoking can cause cancer, heart disease, lung disease, stroke, and reduces fertility. Not only has an impact on internal organs, smoking can also cause various dental and oral problems.

Here are some dental and mouth problems caused by smoking. Scroll down, please!

1. Smoker’s keratosis

Quoting Eagle Falls Dentistry, smoker’s keratosis is a white patch that usually appears on the roof of the mouth in people who smoke. Even though it doesn’t cause pain, it can increase the risk of oral cancer in the future.

There is no specific treatment for smoker’s keratosis. Usually, dentists will advise patients to stop smoking or at least reduce the number of cigarettes smoked.

2. Yellow teeth

Based on a study published in the journal BMC Public Health in 2005, as many as 28 percent of smokers experience moderate and severe tooth discoloration. In addition, they also tend to be dissatisfied with the color of their teeth. A total of 3,384 British adults were involved in the study.

Smoking habits leave yellow, brown, dark brown, or even black stains. The severity depends on the duration and frequency of smoking.

3. Dental caries

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), dental caries occurs when bacteria in the mouth metabolize sugar to produce acids that demineralize the hard tissue of the teeth (enamel and dentin). Another name for dental caries is tooth decay or cavities.

Not only sweet food or drink that can cause dental caries, but also cigarettes. Reported by Your Dentistry Guide, tobacco products can cause enamel (the outermost layer of teeth) to break down. In many cases, decayed teeth must be extracted.

4. Bad breath

Having another name halitosis or fetor oris, this condition is estimated to occur in 1 in 4 people in the world. The causes are many, ranging from leftover food stuck between the teeth, dry mouth, rarely brushing your teeth, certain drugs, to tobacco products.

According to research published in the Journal of Natural Science, Biology, and Medicine in 2014, bad breath is experienced by 80 percent of individuals who smoke. This study involved 200 women and 77 men who studied at Gian Sagar Dental College & Hospital.

Bad breath occurs because the chemical compounds in cigarettes mix with saliva. In addition, smoking can decrease saliva production and make the mouth dry.

5. Gum disease

Gum disease is caused by a buildup of plaque around the teeth, which can irritate the gums and make them red, swollen and bleed. Especially when brushing and flossing (cleaning between the teeth with special floss).

People who smoke tend to have more severe gum disease and are more likely to lose teeth. This is because smoking weakens the immune system and makes it harder for the body to fight infections.

6. Oral cancer

Based on research published in the journal Tobacco Induced Diseases in 2019, there are more than 180,000 cases of oral cancer in Southeast Asia every year. About 90 percent of them are caused by smoking and chewing betel nut (betel nut).

What are the characteristics of oral cancer? The most common are white or red patches appearing on the lining of the mouth or tongue, sores that don’t heal, lumps in the mouth or neck that don’t go away, mouth bleeding or numbness, difficulty swallowing, changes in speech (such as a lisp), to decreased unreasonable weight.

7. Decreased sensitivity to taste

Smokers have much lower taste sensitivity than non-smokers. The more severe the nicotine dependence, the lower the taste sensitivity in the person, according to research published in the journal Tobacco Induced Diseases in 2017.

The risk of smokers becoming malnourished is quite large, because a decrease in taste sensitivity makes them lose their appetite. The good news, taste sensitivity will recover if they stop smoking.

8. Dry sockets

Also known as alveolar osteitis, this is a condition in which healing is slow and painful after an adult tooth extraction procedure. Dry socket is more common in the mandible and the pain lasts up to seven days.

Based on research published in the Dentistry Journal (Basel) in 2022, tobacco smokers are three times more likely to experience dry socket after pulling teeth. The risk of dry socket in smokers is 13.2 percent and only 3.8 percent in non-smokers.

Well, those are some problems with teeth and mouth caused by smoking. Instead of suffering later, it is better to quit smoking!