About Gum Disease, Smoker’s Teeth, & Throat Cancers | Health Effects of Smoking Cigarettes

The oral health effects of smoking cigarettes include an increased risk of periodontal disease, and mouth and throat cancers. Smoker’s teeth are the characteristic yellow teeth caused by the deposits of cigarette tar on the tooth surface. Periodontal disease is the infection of the gums and bones that support and nourish the teeth. Mouth and throat cancers include cancer of the tongue, larynx and esophagus. The smoking facts reveal that oral health is profoundly affected by smoking cigarettes.

Smoking Facts - Facts about

Smoking Facts – Facts about

There are several ways in which the environment of the mouth is altered by cigarette smoking leading to the dramatic changes in oral health in smokers.

Cigarette smoking changes the factors that are necessary to maintain a good healthy mouth and throat and these changes in turn create the known oral diseases caused by smoking as well as the undesirable cosmetic effects.

Deposits of cigarette tar on the tooth surface:

Over time the grooves and pits of teeth become stained from deposits of cigarette tar. This discoloration becomes permanent and is so characteristic as one of the cosmetic effects of smoking cigarettes that the condition is recognized as smoker’s teeth.

Reduction in the amount and nature of the saliva:

Good oral health is maintained by the production of proper amounts of saliva. The teeth are protected from infection by the special antibodies in saliva and its constant action of bathing and rinsing all dental surfaces.

Both these specific characteristics of saliva are diminished by smoking. Not only are the antibodies absent in the saliva of smokers but there is not as much saliva produced. This leaves your teeth and gums vulnerable to infection and since your immune system is compromised as well, when you do get infections in your mouth it can progress and become much more serious because of the reduced response of your immune system.

Smoking has been shown to be one of the main causes of gum disease. A heavy smoker is more than six times more likely to have periodontal disease than a nonsmoker.

Reduced nourishment to the tissues:

Nicotine is a powerful vaso-constrictor and results in decreased blood supply to all tissues. Oral health is profoundly affected by this reduced blood supply to the structures that support the teeth, like the gums and the bones. Gradually these tissues become so malnourished the tissue health can’t be maintained and teeth start to fall out.

There are more toothless grins among smokers than there are among non-smokers.

Contact with the Carcinogenic Ingredients in Cigarettes
One additional insightful idea concerning this subject. Many of the ingredients in cigarettes are known to cause cancer. The constant contact of the oral tissues with these chemicals increases the likelihood of oral and throat cancers and the oral health risks of smoking increase with the amount smoked. The more you smoke the higher your chances of developing cancer of the tongue or one of the types of throat cancers such as cancer of the larynx (voicebox) or the esophagus.

Here are some smoking facts about oral and throat cancers:

The risk for cancer of the larynx in smokers is 10 times that of non smokers. The number one risk factor for cancer of the tongue and oral cancers in people over fifty is the use of tobacco and in fact ninety-five per cent of oral cancers occur in people over the age of fourty seventy-five per cent of oral cancers occur in people who use alcohol, tobacco, or both alcohol and tobacco. Of all the people who are diagnosed with mouth and throat cancer this year only about fifty per cent will still be alive five years from now. Yellow teeth, toothless grins, periodontal gum disease, and mouth and throat cancers are all among the oral health effects of smoking.

It’s enough to make you sick and it does not look too pretty either.

Will these smoking facts make a difference to you or will you continue using smoking fiction? Explore the various reasons used to justify a smoking addiction at http://www.smoking-facts-and-fiction.com where Beverly Hansen OMalley provides even more information about the facts on smoking diseases and health effects.

Ranp31 commented before:
Facts about smoking moldy weed.? Ok, I understand not alot of people agree with smoking weed BUT, i've searched online about moldy weed and found that its just bad for you (or so people say), but i want to know WHY is it bad, what will happen if you smoke moldy weed? I've read about the fungi and bacteria that grow on weed, but nobody has told me what will happen….? My best friend is a quadriplegic. He smokes weed to get rid of some of his physical pain, hes been smoking this weed for MONTHS, but he's never known it was moldy because you could barely see it, it was just beginning to get moldy. As is, his respiratory system is terrible, and his immune system is horrible as well. I just want to make sure that he’ll be alright, and if not, obviously take immediate action for him. I’vent broken the news to him yet because i wanna know ALL the FACTS about smoking moldy weed before I bring it up to him. I've been smoking this weed for a few months now, unknowingly that it had mold on it! I always found that it had a different smell & taste compared to other weed but I didnt think anything of it, it looked normal. Usually when I smoke it, i get a headache, I’ll get phlegm every time, and as usual, cough alot……. Can anybody help me?