Tobacco Usage and Oral Health
It is a well known fact that tobacco usage has been linked to an increase in heart disease, lung cancer, and strokes. It has also been linked to many other diseases such as emphysema and, in women, increases the chance of a pre-term pregnancy. For these factors alone, tobacco users should quit.
Did you know that tobacco use also plays a role in diseases found within the mouth? Smokers or smokeless tobacco users are at a much higher risk of developing cancers of the lips, mouth, cheeks, tongue and throat. Tobacco use is also a secondary factor relating to periodontal, or gum, disease. The immune system of a smoker is weaker than that of a non-smoker. Because of this weakened immune system a smoker has a more difficult time fighting the oral bacterial infection linked to gum disease. Even with proper treatment, the gum tissue in a tobacco user’s mouth will not heal as well due to continued exposure to carcinogens and immune system repression. It has been estimated that smokers are five times more likely to develop gum disease than non-smokers. Smokers experience other oral and dental problems such as brown stained teeth, black hairy tongue, bad breath, and facial wrinkles.
Smoke-less tobacco users ordinarily believe that their product of choice is less harmful than cigarette smoke. Smokeless tobacco is placed directly on the oral tissue causing an inflammatory process resulting in a pre-cancerous white patch, called a leukoplakia. If this white patch progresses and evolves into cancer it will spread and become deadly. Smokeless tobacco usage is just as harmful as smoking tobacco. Unfortunately, many oral cancers are not detected at an early stage. This late detection may result in lymph node resection through disfiguring surgery or even death.
At Berardi Dentistry, we perform an oral cancer examination at every ‘check-up’ visit. This evaluation is an important part of your visit. We are not only about healthy teeth but a healthy mouth, too. A special oral cancer screening tool called a VELscope is used by Dr. Berardi to search for abnormalities within your oral tissues. It emits a fluorescent light that helps with discovering possible oral cancer while it is still within the tissue. If cancer is found at this juncture it is more often an early stage cancer and is more readily treatable leading to a higher survival rate.
Fortunately, today there are many smoking and tobacco cessation products on the market. There are even programs out there that will give free products to anyone willing to quit. If you are a smoker who is thinking of quitting, please let us know. We would like to help guide you into the correct smoking cessation program. Remember, quitting smoking will be the most important health choice that you can make.
