Let’s kick the smoking habit, or at least try to.
In today’s modern society tobacco has a new rival called vaping, now seen as a safer option. Cannabis is similarly debated along these terms. However, when it comes to your dental health, neither are.
The all-round cigarettes, cigars and the old fashioned pipe all lead to oral health problems including bone and tooth loss (damage that cannot be reversed) and oral cancers.
Yes, E-cigarettes or vaping does not contain tobacco but it does contain nicotine, which reduces blood flow (a critical element in inflammatory responses and the hampering of the regeneration of gum tissue). Not only may it lead to tooth sensitivity but places you at an increased risk for cavities and tooth loss. The over-usage of nicotine is a formula for gum disease with the combination of dry mouth, bacteria and the resulting tooth decay.
Cannabis is the new flavour on the block. Smoked as easily as a cigarette, increasingly available in other forms as edible or topical applications, one cannot shy away from the poor quality it leaves in your oral health. The etiology has been complicated by a number of factors associated with frequent use, including high levels of alcohol intake, tobacco, drug use, poor dental hygiene and infrequent dental visits. The main appetite stimulator, a psychotropic agent known as THC, leaves its users consuming a high intake of cariogenic snack foods. To sum it all up, regular cannabis use results in a higher prevalence of tooth decay, dry mouth, bone loss, gingival enlargement and oral cancers.
To all our vapers, smokers and cannabis users, make sure to attend to your oral hygiene routine at home and regularly pay your dentist a visit for a proper oral and dental check-up and clean. Rather be safe than sorry.
