The festive season is approaching, please say no to tobacco

It is the Spring Festival again, and the whole country is celebrating the New Year. During the holidays, many friends will visit relatives and friends and have various gatherings, during which they will inevitably drink and smoke. However, smoking, as an unhealthy lifestyle, will damage many organs of our body, including the oral cavity. Today we will count the effects of smoking on the oral cavity.

Image source: Wikipedia

Effects of smoking on dental health

Smoking mainly causes staining of the teeth themselves, which is called smoke stains. Some studies have also found that smoking may affect the treatment of tooth decay, thus endangering dental health.

Effects of smoking on periodontal health

Smoking has a relatively significant impact on periodontal health. The fundamental reason is that smoking not only enhances the destructive power of periodontal pathogens, the pathogenic factors of periodontitis, but also creates a more comfortable living environment for them, which can be regarded as a model of "helping the evil". Therefore, smoking contributes to the occurrence and development of periodontitis on the one hand, but is also not conducive to the treatment and recovery of periodontitis on the other.

Effects of smoking on oral mucosal health

Smoking has the most significant impact on the oral mucosa. At the mildest level, it can cause tongue staining, dull taste, and delayed healing after dental surgery. At the worst, it can cause precancerous lesions of the oral mucosa and even oral cancer.

Effects of smoking on the oral environment

Smoking is conducive to the growth of anaerobic bacteria in the oral flora, and periodontal pathogens are an important part of anaerobic bacteria. They are also the direct cause of oral halitosis. Therefore, smokers often have obvious bad breath. At the same time, smokers may also have more dental calculus, and their oral hygiene is often worrying.

Effects of smoking on oral and maxillofacial development

The impact of smoking on oral and maxillofacial development is not directly reflected in smokers, but in an indirect way - mothers' smoking causes their babies to have cleft lip and palate, which affects the oral and maxillofacial development.

Although the above-mentioned effects of smoking on oral health are only a small part of the evidence that "smoking is harmful to health", "a small part can reveal the whole picture" and we can imagine how bad the impact of smoking on health is.

Source: References

References

[1] Almeida-da-Silva CLC, Matshik Dakafay H, O'Brien K, et al. Effects of electronic cigarette aerosol exposure on oral and systemic health[J]. Biomed J, 2021, 44(3): 252-259.