Smoking and How it Affects Your Boise Dental Health

We all know that using tobacco in any form is bad for your body. However, did you know that tobacco can cause some very serious Boise dental health problems? Below are a few surprising facts concerning the effects of tobacco on your teeth and gums.

Tobacco Stains Your Teeth

Healthy tooth enamel is a natural translucent white. In contrast, people who smoke or use tobacco tend to have yellow stained teeth. Smoking also stains other dental work such as Boise crowns and bridges, dental implants and dentures. While a Boise teeth whitening treatment at our Summit Dental office can help, you should be prepared to watch your teeth eventually turn yellow and dingy again. The same is true for any other dental work you may have had.

Smoking Increases Your Risk of Gum Disease

Smoking not only increases your risk of gum disease but it can also make the treatments that fight gum disease less effective. Gum disease (periodontal disease) is caused by the same harmful bacteria that causes tooth decay. When this bacteria lives on your gums, it irritates the gum tissue causing a condition called gingivitis. When left untreated, the bacteria can infect your gums, destroy jawbone and eventually cause your teeth to fall out. People who smoke or use tobacco are at a much higher risk of getting gum disease.

Smoking Compromises Your Immune System

The chemicals and tar associated with tobacco products can compromise your immune system making it harder to fight off infection. This makes it more likely to get gum disease or other oral infections. Not only that but you have an increased risk of developing oral cancer in your gums. While lung cancer is a major concern for smokers, smoke and smokeless tobacco can also cause cancer in your gums, lips, and cheeks.

Slow Healing After Boise Dental Surgery

In many cases, oral surgery is the only way to fix many Boise dental problems. A severely infected tooth may require an extraction and replacement with a Boise dental implant. Surgery requires surgical incisions or sutures to help heal your gums. Smoking or using tobacco in any other form affects your whole body, reducing its ability to fight infection and heal itself. This makes it the healing process after oral surgery much slower while increasing your risk of infection.

At Summit Dental Group we encourage our patients that smoke to take whatever steps are necessary to stop using tobacco. Because we deeply care about you, we want you to be aware of the issues above so that you can be proactive in your Boise dental health. If you would like more information on ways to quit smoking please visit http://projectfilter.org/.