From Color to Cancer
As a dental professional, our Issaquah dentist, will encourage the smoker to kick the habit. Teeth show the visible signs of this deadly addiction quite clearly. Nicotine and tar components attach themselves to tooth surfaces, become sticky and attract food debris and bacteria. They become colonized areas where underneath the decay cavities form, usually in the backs of the teeth and under the gums.
Hardened and resistant to routine brushing and flossing, they turn brownish. The decrease saliva flow of smokers is incapable of hydrating the mouth or washing away cigarette debris.
Apart from the yellowish coloring of tooth surfaces and the accompanying undesirable breath, more serious effects of smoking are predictable. Smokers have a higher risk for gingivitis and periodontal disease. Their oral healing capacities are delayed, salivary glands are blocked, and loss of bone in their jaws is hastened.
This is not to mention the risk for oral cancer – which may involve the throat, tongue, jaw bone, or floor of the mouth. Not a pretty picture.
Getting the Assistance you need to quit smoking
Our dentists at Meadow Creek Dental, are a team of caring professionals who care about not just your oral health, but the overall health of our patients. Come over for a cleaning and, possibly, a whitening to start you off fresh.
When you come in for your appointment, mentioning that you do smoke or you are a nicotine user, we may keep an eye out for other concerns related to those who smoke.
