Are you smoking away your oral health?

The internet is flooded with articles on harmful effects of smoking but few of those articles talk about the effects on oral health. Cigarettes, Paan, Beedi, Supari, Areca nut, and other tobacco associated products are harmful to your oral health. The most common affect of smoking is black and brown stains appearing on the teeth, though it is not a good enough reason for people to stop smoking.

Well, here are some hazardous side effects of smoking on your oral health:

1. Poor healing of the gums and bones due to improper blood supply to the gums.

2. White patches on the inner surface of your cheek are called leukoplakia and are considered a causative or a predisposing factor leading to cancer.

3. Oral cancer or Squamous cell Carcinoma can affect the tongue, the lip, the oral mucosa.

4. Many people in rural areas resort to reverse smoking, which means the lit part of the cigarette is in the mouth of the person which causes Oral Submucous fibrosis, a condition that leads to thin white fibers getting deposited in the inner surface of the cheek, increasing difficulty in mouth opening to as few as two fingers of space or less. Difficulty in eating compromises a person's lifestyle and nutrition.

5. Tobacco consumed along with alcohol adds up the effects referred to as synergism and thereby precede cancer.

6. Bone loss accelerates the loss of teeth.(Gingivitis and Periodontitis)

7. Cancer of the throat, esophagus or food pipe prevalence increases.

8. Smoker’s Palate or tiny blisters appear on the roof or the palate of the mouth.

9. Bad breath or Halitosis.

10. Smoking immediately post tooth extraction can cause blood clots to dislodge and lead to a painful condition called Dry Socket.

Statistics suggest that occurrence of cancer in smokers is higher as compared to non-smokers. Withdrawal effects being the nightmare, it is always difficult to cut down the number of cigarettes. On the bright side, tissue damage is reversible if one quits smoking. Nicotine patches and sugar-free gums only help if you take the initiative and set your mind to it. Lungs and respiratory tract take a toll for every cigarette you take.

Another technique that you can use to train your mind is by calculating the number of cigarettes per day and then observing the entire year's numbers. The numbers will scare you, but they will be eye-openers.

As per a study average number of cigarettes smoked by a person in a day is 8.2. This equates to about 3000 cigarettes in a year.

The numbers are scary but don’t get overwhelmed. You can start by cutting down two cigarettes a day and keeping track of the progress. It is always better to have small goals and work on them at your own pace. Let us kick this evil to the curb and even save our loved ones from the passivity of the smoke.

-Dr. Mishika Arora

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