You do all you can to lead a healthy life, but there’s just one habit you can’t quite get under control.

Tobacco.

Maybe you smoke, dip, or enjoy a cigar fairly often, and you’re just not sure you want to give it up.

Our team at Hawkins Complete Dental Service understands, but we care about you too much to let you be uninformed about the unique risks tobacco poses for your dental health.

Smoking dramatically increases your risk for gum disease, and if you want to keep that from happening, it’s best to take steps today to quit the habit.

If you’re concerned that your tobacco use may have already affected your gums, then visit our Zanesville, OH dental office for nonsurgical gum disease treatment, and we’ll get you back on track!

Ditch Tobacco For Better Dental Health

You already know about the health risks of smoking and using other tobacco products.

But today, you’re going to learn a bit more about the ways tobacco affects your dental health, specifically.

In case you needed more reasons to quit, here are some ways your dental health will be better if you ditch tobacco now:

*Tooth Enamel Will Be Stronger*

Cigar or cigarette smoke, as well as chewing tobacco both have a grittiness to them that makes it easy to scratch up your tooth enamel. With nicks, holes, and weak spots on the surface, your enamel becomes weaker and weaker, and more susceptible to infiltration by bad bacteria.

To keep your teeth as strong as possible, you should definitely consider tobacco cessation.

*Your Teeth Will Be Whiter*

This may be the most obvious advantage to your smile of ditching the tobacco.

Tobacco users have notoriously yellowish-brown, stained teeth. One of the reasons for that is the surface texture of your tooth enamel. It’s full of microscopic holes where chemicals, smoke, vapor, and dark pigments can attach and tangle themselves up on your teeth and leave them dull and discolored.

*Your Gum Disease Risk Will Be Lower*

In all its various forms, tobacco leads to gum inflammation and irritation. With sores or weakened spots on your gums, you have a much higher chance of developing the bacterial infection of gum disease.

In fact, smokers are twice as likely to get gum disease than non-smokers! That should be motivation enough to quit.

*Saliva Production Will Be Higher*

Smoking dehydrates you and limits your saliva production. The problem here is that you need saliva to supplement your own oral hygiene. In other words, you might brush and floss in the morning and you brush again at night.

But in between those times, saliva helps you wash away the food particles from what you eat and drink throughout the day. It’s something your mouth relies on to stay clean.

*Healing From Oral Surgery Will Be Easier*

Oral surgery has come a long way as technology has improved, but one of the factors that continues to lower your chances for a smooth recovery is tobacco use.

Smoking and other forms of tobacco will compromise your immune system and make it harder for your body to heal after certain medical and dental procedures. By quitting the habit, you have a better chance to avoid complications.

Make An Appointment

Because gum disease is the number one cause of tooth loss, you should do all you can to stop smoking and lower your risk significantly.

But more than anything, kicking your addiction to tobacco will help you live a longer, healthier life overall.

To learn more about preventing gum disease or to request an appointment at Hawkins Complete Dental Service, call 740-214-1301 or fill out our convenient online form.