Today’s blog is primarily aimed at those of you who have successfully given up smoking and to you, we say ‘well done’. The fact is though, that if you have ever been a smoker, you are always just one temptation away from starting again. As many of you will already know, this coming festive season is a time of the year when the resolve not to smoke can be weakened.
Parties and meeting with friends for drinks is a time when you can all too easily forget the negatives of smoking, or perhaps convince yourself that you can just have one cigarette and then quit again in the new year. In reality, though some will do this, many will fail and become smokers again. Non smokers should also read and take heed.
Hopefully, all of you will resist this temptation, but today’s Clarence Dental Practice blog takes a look at what you are letting yourself in for if you don’t.
We will only discuss this briefly as a reminder, before we look at smoking from a dental perspective. There is enough information widely available for you to know that smoking can kill, or cause heart problems and cancers. It really isn’t worth the risk. Your finances too will take a big hit. Roughly speaking, cigarettes are now around £16 for 20 cigarettes. Let’s be generous and say you start to smoke 10 a day. That comes to just under a whopping £3k a year. That is a big financial hit but let’s also now, take a look at what it does to the oral health of our Staines dental patients.
One of the most common problems that smoking causes is that of gum disease. Some of you might think that spitting the odd bit of blood in the sink after cleaning (as TV adverts might have you believe) is a small price to pay for smoking. This is just the tip of the iceberg though and other symptoms such as bad breath, soreness and even pockets of pus in the gums can occur. All of these are unpleasant, and in the case of halitosis, antisocial too, but they aren’t the worst outcomes.
When gum disease occurs and is not stopped in its tracks by professional cleaning and a change in lifestyle habits, it not only affects the gums but starts to degrade the bone in the jaw as well. The eventual outcome of this is that your teeth start to become loose, and tooth loss becomes more likely. You have to ask yourself if ‘just one cigarette’ is really worth it for a mouth with missing teeth?
When you have had a procedure, such as an extraction, or a dental implant placement, the area needs time to heal. This normally occurs as the blood flows to the area to start the healing process. In most cases, this runs smoothly. If you smoke though, the tiny veins in your gums become more narrow and less blood arrives to heal the area. This can lead to a greater chance of infections that might need to be treated. In the case of dental implants, this could lead to their failure and is why we discuss smoking with you when discussing implant treatment. If you insist on smoking, then implants may well not work for you.
Although it is not the most common risk, it is the most serious. Mouth cancer can have devastating effects on the function and appearance of your mouth. It can also result in death. Smoking is by far the biggest risk factor and simply is not worth it. If you want to know the effect it can have on your appearance, just check in Google and be prepared for a shock.
Some of you might have noticed that, during your check up at our Staines dental clinic, we check your tongue, cheeks and other soft tissues of the oral cavity, as well as your teeth. This is because we are in an excellent position to detect early possible signs of oral cancer. If we refer you to your GP, it may well be that there are other reasons for any lumps or lesions that we find, but it is best to be on the safe side so that any necessary treatment can be started as early as possible for the best outcome.
In the greater scheme of things, the appearance of our teeth is not as important as the above issues, but it is one that can have an impact on our confidence and in relationships, both personal and professional.
While all teeth will discolour over time, this can be speeded up and worsened by our lifestyle choices. Smoking, as you can probably imagine, is one of the worst of these and can leave your teeth a yellow, or even brown colour. If you are a light or occasional smoker, this might be improved with a teeth whitening procedure, but more badly stained teeth could well need porcelain veneers, a more expensive and invasive option.
So, when you are at your Christmas or New Year social events, perhaps after having a few drinks, and someone offers you a cigarette; however tempted to take it you are, just think first. Is one cigarette really worth poorer general health, £3k, bad breath, loose teeth, more oral infections and possibly life changing oral cancer too? We think you know the answer. As the saying goes ‘just say NO’.
If you have not had a check up recently or are looking for a new Staines dentist to join, why not contact the Clarence Dental Practice by calling us today on 01784 463 695.
Address: 21a Clarence Street, Staines upon Thames, Surrey, TW18 4SU
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