How Does Tobacco Impact Your Gum Health?

Do you smoke cigarettes, vape, or use smokeless tobacco products? If so, this could not only lead to a higher risk of cancer, but also lead to more severe stages of gum disease, including the one linked to tooth loss. In today’s blog, your Encinitas/San Diego, CA, periodontist talks about how smoking impacts your smile.

Smoking and Your Oral Health

When you smoke cigarettes, use smokeless tobacco, or vape, you expose your body to an array of harmful and addictive chemicals. Any of these are carcinogens, and can increase your risk of cancers in the mouth, throat, and lungs. But the use of these products also leads to issues with periodontal disease, an issue that impacts half of adults over the age of 30 according to the Centers for Disease Control. Which means your smile could be likely to develop sore, red gums that bleed easily, or major gum recession that impacts the stability and appearance of your smile.

The Impact on Periodontal Disease

Along with an increased risk of emphysema, oral cancer, and other diseases that lead to death and suffering, the use of tobacco products also causes issues with periodontal disease too. These products increase the risk of periodontitis, the later stage of the series that is linked to adult tooth loss. Periodontitis destroys the tissues that connect your teeth and gums, leading to the number one cause of tooth loss in adulthood. Our team is ready to offer tips on helping you or a member of your family quit, so you can protect your gum health and also your overall health too, so you’re less likely to suffer from a debilitating disease that could cost you your life.

Treatment Options

Once you quit, you could still require help with periodontal disease. Again, we’re ready to protect your smile. For minor cases, we could discuss oxygen therapy, antibiotics, and deep cleanings (scaling and root planings) to make management possible with routine dental cleanings and better oral hygiene habits. For more severe cases, we could use laser dentistry to conduct pinhole gum grafts and remove diseased tissues, so we can again manage periodontal disease and keep your smile healthy and whole.

If you have any questions about the dangers of smoking or if you need help quitting, then contact our team today. We’re also eager to help treat your periodontal concerns, protecting the health, beauty, and stability of your smile.

Talk To Your Encinitas/San Diego, CA Periodontist About Your Gum Health

Our team wants to help safeguard the health and stability of your smile. If you would like to find out more about protecting your periodontal health, then call Dr. Kania’s office in Encinitas/San Diego, CA, at (760) 642-0711.