• Quitting smoking combined with routine cleaning results in healthier gums

• Smokers who give up are much less likely to lose their teeth prematurely

Quit smoking and keep your teeth

• This is the best advise your dentist can give you. A study by Dr Philip Preshaw at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne found that smokers who give up are much less likely to lose their teeth prematurely.[1]

• Smokers lose an average of 2.9 teeth after 10 years of smoking one pack a day, while non-smokers lose an average of 1.3 teeth after 10 years.[2]

• Smokers are still up to six times more likely to develop gum disease than non-smokers, because smoking weakens the body’s immune system and makes it less well-equipped to fight back.[1]

[1] Newcastle University Press Office
[2] www.agd.org

Oral effects of tobacco abuse

ORAL CANCER

At least 80% of oral cancer patients are smokers.

SMOKER'S MELANOSIS

22% of heavy smokers suffer from Brown pigmentation on gingival or buccal mucosae.

PERIODONTITIS

Smokers have considerably more severe gum diseases than non-smokers. More alveolar bone loss, more tooth mobility, and greater tooth loss than nonsmokers.

ACUTE NECROTIZING ULCERATIVE GINGIVITIS (ANUG)

Painful tissue necrosis and ulceration of the gums.

DELAYED ALVEOLAR WOUND HEALING

Reduced blood flow, less blood filling of extraction sockets and five times more likely to develop dry sockets than non-smokers.

CARIES (TOOTH DECAY)

Smoke causes higher formation of hard deposits than non-smokers.

EROSION

The chemical dissolution of enamel has been reported in tobacco smokers and chewers

ALTERED TASTE

Tobacco smoking is well known to diminishing our ability to detect various tastes and smells.

HALITOSIS

Both smoked and smokeless tobacco usage produce unpleasant breath odours or "bad breath".

TOOTH AND PROSTHETIC STAINS

Tobacco stain, a brown/black extrinsic stain, is typically found on the enamel surfaces of smokers and tobacco chewers.

Smoking, Risks and Consequences

The long term risks of smoking and tobacco consumption are well documented. The long term benefits of not smoking and limiting exposure to environmental tobacco smoke are also well known. It is useful to emphasize the particular benefits of applying an evidence-based approach to determining tobacco consumption and second hand smoke exposure in the dental context.

NicAlert™ enables dentsits to:

• Identify which patients are smoking
• Detect secondhand smoke exposure
• Measure level of nicotine dependency in smokers
• Assist patients in quitting
• Identify relapsed smokers

NicAlert™ is available for R&D applications. Click here for more information.