WHY DOES THE DENTISTS WANT PEOPLE TO QUIT SMOKING?

Tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death.

A myriad of dental health problems have been linked to smoking. The most obvious are bad breath and tooth discoloration. More seriously, smoking has been linked to an increased risk of gum disease, increased bone loss in the jaw, and oral cancer. We as a dentist strongly encourage you to quit smoking. Why?

Because…

Smokers have twice the risk for gum disease as a non-smoker. According to the American Academy of Periodontology, the use of tobacco is one of the most significant risk factors in both the development and progression of gum disease which has been linked to a number of serious health conditions including heart attack, stroke, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and cancer.

However the effects of smoking begin to reverse almost immediately when a smoker quits the habit. According to the American Dental Association, even after years of tobacco use, reducing the amount of smoking or quitting completely, can greatly reduce the health risks even so far as to reducing the likelihood of gum disease to that of a person who had never smoked!