We’ve all seen or read an advertisement about the harmful effects of smoking. It’s never been a secret; smoking causes serious health issues. It’s linked to cancer, various issues with the heart as well as our bodies’ autoimmune systems. However, did you know that smoking causes serious issues affecting the mouth as well? From gum disease leading to dental implant failure, to the 24/7 “smoker’s breath”, all the way to mouth cancer, are all potential causes of smoking as well. So in short, smoking is really, really bad for you.

The total number of new smokers is rising every year, to the point that it’s become a serious problem amongst teens/ young adults as well. Hence, the rate of heart and lung diseases in individuals has been steadily climbing as well in the younger generation.

As mentioned earlier, smoking not only affects your lungs and heart but also affects other parts of the body as well, such as the lips and teeth. The lips of smokers lose their natural pinkish pigmentation and take on a blacker colour, steadily darkening further over time. It is not matter of color but it means that lips get damaged with smoking.

The impact of smoking on teeth

Similarly, smoking also directly impacts the teeth as well. Teeth get damaged with smoking; the internal color of teeth of smokers is black, an extremely unhealthy colour state for them. This colour issue cannot be appeased by brushing regularly. The smoking individuals could brush ten times a day, it would not make a difference as teeth are in an unhealthy state, slowly degrading away. Smoking also damages the gums of teeth and could be the reason of many gum diseases.

Smoking disrupts the natural connection between soft tissues/ gums and the teeth/ bone structure surrounding the teeth via a disruption in the function of gum tissue cells. This disturbance opens the doors and exposes the mouth to various diseases as well as infections. Though smoking warmly invites mouth cancer, a much more common negative impact is gum disease, which could harm your teeth in many ways.

Impact on your dental implants

So if you’re an individual whom has had/ needs or even simply wants to get a dental procedure done, be warned, dental treatments and smoking do not mesh well at all. The problem lies in the fact that the treatment, no matter where you get it (say, dental implants in Henderson) would not hold its effect due to smoking leading to weakened gums. Moreover, on the impact on dental implants, studies have proven that the rate of failure of dental implants is higher amongst smokers versus non-smokers. Therefore, if you aren’t going to stop smoking for the health impacts, stop for the sake of it disturbing the dental procedures you invest in!

My Dream Dental Clinic is one of the most professional, reputable and well respected dental clinics in Las Vegas. The clinic is a winner of the 2015 patient’s choice award for dentists in Henderson (view the award label on our homepage!) So, if you’re in need of dental implants in Henderson, or just looking to get some conversation start about a future dental issue/treatment, feel free to contact My Dream Dental, a dental clinic in Henderson!