How The Use Of Tobacco Affects Your Oral Health
If you use any type of tobacco product on a regular basis, you will need to provide extra care to your mouth if you want to keep your teeth and protect your mouth. Tobacco is something that is harmful for your mouth, and here are several things you should understand about the correlation between tobacco use and oral health.
Tobacco products cause many types of oral health issues
Using tobacco has a lot of different effects on your body and mouth. When it comes to your mouth, tobacco products cause a lack of saliva. Not having enough saliva can lead to a lot of problems, including an increased risk of cavities. Tobacco products can also cause you to develop gum disease, and it can cause sores and growths in your mouth. Additionally, tobacco products will increase your chances of developing cancer in your throat or mouth. Because of this, dentists will carefully examine mouths of smokers to see if there are any signs of problems like this.
Tobacco products can give you bad breath
People who smoke or use other types of tobacco problems tend to struggle with bad breath. This occurs for several reasons, but one of the reasons is because smoking smells bad. If you smoke, you will always smell like tobacco, smoke, and cigarettes. Unless you brush your teeth after each cigarette, this smell will be there. You may also struggle with bad breath because smoking causes dry mouth. When your mouth doesn't have enough saliva, it tends to struggle with keeping your breath fresh.
Tobacco products will discolor your teeth
One other thing to realize is that smoking will discolor your teeth. If you smoke every day, your teeth will most likely begin looking yellowish or brownish in color after a while. While you can brush your teeth daily, brushing may not be enough to help you keep your teeth white. Instead, you may need to use teeth whitening products on a regular basis. If you don't, your teeth may always look yellow, brown, dingy, and dirty.
If you currently use any form of tobacco and have not visited a dentist in the past few months, you should schedule an appointment to have the dentist examine your teeth and mouth. People who smoke or use other types of tobacco products should visit a dentist three to four times a year for regular checkups. If you would like to learn more, contact a dentist today.