The Connection between Smoking and Gum Disease
Smoking is one of the most significant risk factors in the development and progression of periodontal disease.
Not only does smoking cause bad breath and yellow teeth, research has shown that it is also harmful to your periodontal health. In fact, smoking may be responsible for more than half of the gum disease cases in the US, based on research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Heavy smoking further increases the odds of developing gum disease. Smokers who smoke less than half a pack per day are almost three times more likely to have advanced gum disease than non-smokers. Those who smoke more than a pack and a half per day have almost six times the risk.
Research also shows that smokers lose more teeth than those who don’t smoke. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 20 percent of non-smokers over 65 are toothless, while 41.3 percent of daily smokers over 65 are toothless. Furthermore, the chemicals in tobacco make the results of oral surgery or periodontal treatment less predictable. Non-smokers respond better to periodontal treatment than smokers.
Cigarettes aren’t the only tobacco products that are harmful to your periodontal health. Smokeless tobacco causes gum recession and the loss of the bone and fibers that keep your teeth in place, and cigar smokers experience tooth loss and bone loss at rates similar to those of cigarette smokers.
Why Smoking Is Harmful to Your Periodontal Health
Smokers are more likely to have calculus, which is hardened plaque on your teeth that can only be removed during a professional cleaning. If you do not have the calculus removed, it will destroy your gum tissue and cause your gums to pull away from your teeth.
Smokers are also more likely to have deep pockets between their teeth and gums and suffer the loss of bone and tissue that support the teeth. The deep pockets fill up with disease-causing bacteria and continue to grow deeper, if left untreated. Eventually, your teeth become loose, painful, and may even fall out.
In addition, smoking reduces the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to gum tissue by causing small blood vessels to constrict. As a result, the healing process is slowed and the gums become more susceptible to infection. Furthermore, studies have suggested that smokers’ gums are more likely to be infected with aggressive types of bacteria that cause gum disease.
The good news is that 11 years after quitting smoking, former smokers are no more likely than non-smokers to have gum problems. The harmful effects of tobacco on your periodontal health gradually disappear after you quit.
Are You a Smoker?
If you smoke, set up an appointment to undergo a comprehensive periodontal evaluation and periodontal cleaning at Woodinville Periodontist Dr. Terry L. LaBell’s office. Check-ups and routine cleanings are recommended every six months or so to remove plaque and calculus from your teeth and prevent a variety of oral health problems. If you have periodontal disease, we can perform the scaling & root planing procedure to get deep below the gum line and remove plaque and calculus from periodontal pockets. For more information, please call
425.402.1246 or fill out our online
contact form.
Added on 04/14/2011
Filed Under
Health,
Preventative Care by LATEST NEWS from Dr. LaBell
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