The Effects Of Smoking And Chewing Tobacco On Your Mouth — They Will Take Your Smile!

Severe Recession All tobacco chewers and smokers...stand at attention. We have some good news and some bad news. The good news? It’s Dental Hygiene Month, which means it’s the perfect time to visit your dental health care provider for a checkup and oral cancer screening.

The bad news? You’re about to have the smile wiped off your face...permanently.

As a matter of fact, when you smoke or chew tobacco, you’re at risk of losing your cheek, your tongue, your teeth, or your jaw. Maybe your entire face.

When you smoke or use smokeless tobacco, your risk of oral cancer skyrockets. In fact, tobacco use accounts for most oral cancers. Smoking cigarettes, cigars, or pipes; using chewing tobacco; and dipping snuff are all linked to oral cancer. Heavy smokers who use tobacco for a long time are most at risk. The risk increases for tobacco users who drink alcohol heavily. The bottom line is that three out of four oral cancers occur in people who use alcohol or tobacco, or both alcohol and tobacco.¹

Tobacco in any form is the enemy of good dental health, and since October is Dental Hygiene Month, the spotlight is on the importance of healthy teeth and gums. Don’t put it off. This is the perfect time to schedule a checkup and cleaning with the dentist or hygienist. It’s not an option—it is a matter of life and death. Dental examinations that include a screening for oral cancer will save lives. Oral cancer screening that is part of a dental checkup catches oral cancer early. As with most cancers, the earlier oral cancer is detected, the better a person’s chances for survival!²

Gross Teeth This is serious business. It’s not just about smelling like an ashtray and having brown teeth. It’s about lives being lost. Fast and furiously! In the next hour, 50 people will die because of tobacco. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports the worldwide death toll from tobacco use is 4 million annually. This is far greater than the number of fatalities from all illegal drugs and alcohol combined. The death toll is expected to surge to 10 million per year by the 2020's or early 2030's. The WHO estimates that there are approximately 1.1 billion regular smokers in the world, which is one-third of the global population ages 15 years and older. That’s a lot of younger brothers and sisters whose lives are being cut short by tobacco use.³

Even the slickest of tobacco executives can’t deny the statistics—there is a definitive link between the use of tobacco products and the development of oral cancer. One study conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, found that more than eight out of ten oral cancer patients were smokers.¹

As if the laundry list of problems associated with smokeless tobacco were not enough—bad breath, stained teeth, loss of taste and smell, mouth (canker) sores, failure of dental implants, and oral cancer— smoking and chewing tobacco is the main suspect in gum recession, bone loss, and tooth loss associated with periodontal (gum) disease. Smokers who smoke less than a half a pack of cigarettes per day are almost three times more likely than nonsmokers to have periodontitis, according to a study by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.⁴

Now that we have your full attention, we’d like you to check the warning signs of oral disease:

Bleeding gums during brushing
Red, swollen, or tender gums
Gums that have pulled away from the teeth
Persistent bad breath
Pus between the teeth and gums
Loose or separating teeth
A change in the way your teeth fit together when you bite⁵

Oral Cancer The theme of this year’s Dental Hygiene Month is A Healthy Smile Lasts a Lifetime. This goal can only be reached if you do your part to keep your mouth clean and healthy. If you are considering quitting the smokeless tobacco or smoking habit, you’ve actually started the process by reading this article! If you want to have a confidential conversation with a trained professional about how to get started, you’re only a click away.

You are young, strong, and capable! Don’t give smokeless tobacco or cigarettes an inch, or they will take your smile. Celebrate Dental Hygiene Month by making your appointment for a checkup today. And give your gums a fighting chance—Quit Tobacco. Make Everyone Proud.

References

¹ http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/oral/page4

² http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/dental/index.html

³ http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/tobacco/problem_tobacco.htm

⁵ http://www.healthnews.com/dental-health/effects-smoking-oral-health-370.html

⁶ http://www.adha.org/downloads/perio_smoking.pdf

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