Quit Smoking Plans
Mills Dental Care Is Here to Help
If you use tobacco products, you could be harming more than just your lungs or your skin. At Mills Dental Care, we want our patients to know that smoking leads to a wide number of dental problems, including:
Not only is smoking bad for your skin and lungs, it also causes a wide variety of dental problems.
- Bad breath
- Tooth discolouration
- Inflammation of the salivary glands
- Increased plaque and tartar buildup
- Increased loss of bone within the jaw
- Increased risk of leukoplakia (white patches in the mouth)
- Increased risk of developing gum disease and tooth loss
- Delayed healing oral surgeries or gum disease treatments
- Lower success rate of dental implant procedures
- Increased risk of developing oral cancer
Smoking and other tobacco products can contribute to gum disease by affecting the attachment of bone and soft tissue to your teeth. More specifically, it appears that smoking interferes with the normal function of gum tissue cells.
Improvement in Health When You Stop Smoking
This interference makes smokers more susceptible to infections, such as periodontal disease and also seems to impair blood flow to the gums, which may affect wound healing.
Kick the tobacco habit regardless of how long you have used tobacco products. Quitting now can greatly reduce serious risks to your health. Eleven years after quitting, former smokers’ likelihood of having periodontal (gum) disease was not significantly different from people who never smoked.
Even reducing the amount you smoke appears to help. One study found that smokers who reduced their smoking habit to less than half a pack a day had only three times the risk of developing gum disease compared with non-smokers, which was significantly lower than the six times higher risk seen in those who smoked more than a pack and a half per day.
Another study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association found that the mouth lesion leukoplakia completely resolved within six weeks of quitting in 97.5% of patients who used smokeless tobacco products.
Why You Should Quit Smoking
Some statistics from the American Cancer Society present sobering reasons why you should quit smoking:
- About 90% of people with cancer of the mouth, lips, tongue and throat use tobacco, and the risk of developing these cancers increases with the amount smoked or chewed and the duration of the habit.
- Smokers are six times more likely than non-smokers to develop these cancers.
- About 37% of patients who persist in smoking after apparent cure of their cancer will develop second cancers of the mouth, lips, tongue and throat, compared with only 6% of those who stop smoking.
If you need help kicking the tobacco habit, contact our caring dental team. At Mills Dental Care, we work alongside you to create a cessation plan for a healthier smile and a healthier life!
Additional information and resources on quitting smoking is available on http://tobaccofreelife.org/