Gum disease is one of the main ways smoking hurts your dental health since it increases your risk of getting it. Most tooth loss is caused by gum disease. Additionally, it has a direct connection to cardiac disease. Nicotine and hot, dry vapour are both exposed to your gums when you vape. Consequently, it increases your chance of developing gum disease.
Additionally, smoking hides gum disease’s early warning signals (swelling and bleeding when you brush). This is detrimental because it may lead you to believe that your gums are healthy when they are not.
Because the whole impact of vaping on your immune system is still unknown, it is unclear if vaping is as harmful to your gums as smoking. However, anything that directly exposes your gums to heat and nicotine increases your risk of developing gum disease and tooth loss.
Continue reading to learn what is currently known about the possible negative consequences of vaping on your teeth.
How does a Vape Work?
A battery powers the atomizer in vapes and e-cigarettes, which heats and vaporizes the chemicals within. You hope that your teeth and overall health are unaffected and presume that you are not inhaling the dangerous chemicals found in traditional cigarettes. Is that actually the case? Let’s look more closely.
How Vaping Affects your Gums
Nicotine is a common component of both traditional and electronic cigarettes. It is known to constrict blood vessels in addition to having a stimulating impact on the neurological system. As a result, the nicotine in vape formula causes your blood vessels to constrict when you enjoy a vape or E-cigarette.
This will not only cause the body’s average blood pressure to rise, but it will also cause the blood vessels in the gums to narrow. As a result, your gums and other oral soft tissues receive less blood, making them more susceptible to illness.
According to research from Kings College, London published in 2016 in the British Dental Journal, vapers exhibited symptoms of inflamed gums. It was determined that vaping increases the risk of periodontal disease and gum inflammation. You will progressively begin losing teeth if the periodontal disease or gum inflammation is not treated.
Vaping and Your Teeth
The following are some ways that vaping might harm your teeth:
Dry mouth, bacteria, and tooth decay
The amount of saliva in your mouth is reduced by e-cigarette nicotine. Dry mouth, plaque accumulation, an increase in germs, and eventually tooth damage can all be caused by a lack of saliva.
Bruxism and tooth damage
The nicotine that is inhaled when vaping stimulates the muscles. You may develop bruxism (teeth grinding) as a result of this, or the condition may get worse. Regular teeth grinding, gnashing, or clenching can harm your teeth and cause other problems with your oral health.
Tooth Sensitivity
The gums become irritated by the chemical vapour from vapes and e-cigarettes, which causes them to pull away from their natural position. Combining this with uncontrolled teeth grinding brought on by nicotine damages tooth enamel and makes teeth sensitive to heat or cold.
How can you minimize the side effects?
Although quitting vaping entirely is the greatest thing you can do for your health, we are aware that this is easier said than done. You need to take great care of your teeth when you’re attempting to break the habit. Your likelihood of experiencing adverse effects may be decreased by the following:
Reduce your nicotine consumption
Limiting the damaging effects of nicotine on your teeth and gums by choosing low-nicotine or nicotine-free juices.
After vaping, sip some water
Rehydrate yourself after vaping to prevent dry lips and unpleasant breath.
Every day, brush your teeth twice
Plaque can cause cavities, therefore brushing helps prevent them and improves gum health in general.
In the evening, floss
Like brushing, flossing encourages gum health and assists in the removal of plaque. Good oral hygiene reduces the risk of gum disease.
Go to the dentist frequently
If you can, schedule a cleaning and consultation with a dentist every six months. The early discovery and treatment of any underlying issues will be aided by maintaining a regular cleaning program.
When to see a dentist or other healthcare provider
Some signs and symptoms might point to a problem with your dental health.
If you encounter any of the following, schedule an appointment with a dentist or other oral healthcare professional:
- Swollen or bleeding gums
- Alterations in your teeth’s sensitivity, particularly to temperature
- Frequent mouth dryness
- Tooth decay
- Unhealing mouth ulcers
- Mouth discomfort or a toothache
- Shrinking gums
- Teeth with white patches (a sign of decalcifications)
- White spots on your tongue or mouth (a sign of thrush)
If you have any of the aforementioned symptoms together with a fever or facial or neck oedema, you should seek emergency medical attention.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can vaping cause cavities?
Cavities, or holes in your teeth, are often brought on by plaque acid eroding the enamel of your teeth.
When plaque bacteria come into touch with sugar, they produce this dangerous acid. As a result, you increase your chance of getting cavities if you use flavoured vapes that include sugar.
The bacteria in your mouth have a way to manufacture acid indefinitely when you continuously load your mouth with sugar-rich vapour.
When you add mouth-drying hot vapour to this, your teeth are left extremely susceptible to decay.
Naturally, not all e-liquids for vaping include sugar, so be careful to select one that doesn’t.
Does Vaping Stain Teeth?
Advertisers tout vaping as a more wholesome option than smoking or using marijuana. However, there are still a lot of health advantages to vaping. Fortunately, one benefit of vaping is that it does not discolour teeth or contribute to foul breath. On the other hand, smoking causes teeth to become stained and yellow.
There has only been one research looking at whether vaping damages teeth, but the findings were at least encouraging.
Researchers at British American Tobacco (BAT) looked at teeth that had been exposed to e-cigarette vapour for two weeks and compared them to teeth that had been exposed to tobacco smoke for the same amount of time. According to the study’s findings, vaping had no discernible impact on teeth in terms of discolouration.
While the research is undoubtedly encouraging, it’s important to note that the 2-week timeframe is fairly constrained, and we’d probably gain more from a study carried out over a longer length of time. Hopefully, further study will be conducted soon, removing any last-minute uncertainty.
Does Vaping Cause Mouth Cancer?
Two-thirds of oral cancers are connected to smoking, and individuals who smoke have a startling 10-times greater risk of developing the disease than those who don’t. Given this, it seems sensible for those who are switching from smoking to vaping to ask if e-cigarettes are similarly dangerous.
We’re happy to inform anyone who may still be on the fence about vaping that there is no danger of mouth cancer. Since no carbon monoxide nor tar are present when we vape, maybe that will allay any concerns. These two substances are responsible for the vast majority of malignancies linked to smoking.
Will quitting smoking improve my gums?
Yes. The good news is that smokers who stop do not differ from non-smokers in their susceptibility to gum disease and their response to therapy.
When you stop smoking, it’s normal for your gums to bleed more. Consult a dentist or dental hygienist for treatment. Additionally, they may teach you how to take care of your teeth at home.
The Bottom Line
Despite the fact that e-cigarettes don’t contain tobacco, vaping still has similar health concerns as tobacco use. It is a myth that vaping isn’t dangerous for your teeth or that e-cigarettes are much healthier than traditional cigarettes.
Smokers are more likely to get gum disease, loose teeth, experience issues after oral surgery and removal of teeth, as well as acquire mouth cancer. They recover less quickly than non-smokers and are more prone to infections. Quitting smoking lessens the chance of getting oral cancer and gum disease and enhances a person’s reaction to gum disease therapy.
Consider cutting back or possibly stopping if you smoke or vape to safeguard your dental and general health. People who smoke should see their dentist on a regular basis to maintain healthy teeth and gums and look for indications of oral cancer.
Additionally, it’s critical for vapers to schedule routine dental checkups in order to identify and address any issues with their oral health. Be careful to let your dentist know if you vape.
As we’ve already learned, always choose a sugar-free e-liquid without any colourings if you want to prevent stains and reduce the risk of cavities. All of our e-liquids fit this description, so browse our wide selection of e-liquid right away for vape fluids that are gentle on your teeth!
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