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World No Tobacco Day: Say No to Smoking with Braces

A Smile Can Change Everything

Smoking with Braces
Smoking cigarettes areas such damaging to your health in a number of ways. But have you wondered what damage it could do to your oral health when you have braces on? Of course, you can smoke, but at Koch Orthodontics, we highly suggest that you avoid smoking with braces.Every 1 in 5 adult Americans consumes tobacco. 65 million adults suffer from gum disease, out of which half they smoke cigarettes. (Source: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022034512457373)Smoking and braces are recipe for disaster, it’s like bringing oil and water together. It simply doesn’t work. One of the biggest drawbacks of smoking with braces is the risk it puts on staining several teeth. You’re also increasing the risk of teeth stains that may not disappear that easily.After all, who wants yellow teeth right after you have gotten them re-aligned? At Koch Orthodontics, we want you to have clean and bright teeth that are well aligned and ready for a close-up! But this simply can’t happen if you keep smoking.

Here’s a look at the effects of smoking with braces on your orthodontic treatment:

Smoking has a direct impact on the performance of orthodontic treatment. The nicotine content in a cigarette can develop stains on teeth and is especially if you have a set of clear braces on. In the worst cases, smoking can also prevent the ability of braces to properly align teeth.

Smoking reduces your mouth’s chance to fight tooth decay simply because of the lack of saliva production. Saliva is especially important to drive out stubborn acid that sticks to out-of-reach spots in the mouth. And also reduces bacteria-generated plaque that often stays in the mouth if not encouraged to leave. This hassle only prolongs treatment time as minor adjustments and regular cleaning will have to be scheduled at regular intervals.

Smoking will easily discolor your teeth. Your brackets and wires have a good chance of turning from pale to a darker yellow in no time! And it can be especially obvious if your choice of orthodontic treatment is clear braces. Stains from tobacco consumption affect your tooth enamel to a point where the stains cannot simply be removed even with regular brushing.

Once your brackets are ready to be removed, your teeth have a chance of sustaining a light colored spot that suggests the surrounding area has been stained. The extra cleaning doesn’t can be heavy on your pocket as braces itself isn’t all that cheap an orthodontic treatment.

But smoking stains on teeth are not the only oral health problem when you consume tobacco. Here’s a look at the other problems that smoking can pose on your teeth.

  • Prolonged Treatment Time
  • Extra Cleaning

Other Oral Health Problems:

Bacteria and food debris often trigger gum disease. If not removed from teeth, plaque hardens to form tartar or calculus. This buildup irritates the gums that surround the teeth. Smokers may not experience bleeding gums simply because of the lack of blood supply to the gums and this masks their gum disease.

Smokers have a higher chance of developing gingivitis, strong and chronic pain in the gums, which tastes and smells terrible.

Smokers are left with bad breath when smoke particles enter the throat and lungs. A freshly smoked cigarette lets the smell linger in the lungs for hours, which is why smokers sustain a stale scent in their breath.

Smokers make up 75% of people who suffer from oral cancer. Smokers are 35 times more likely to develop oral cancer if you smoke forty cigarettes and drink four alcoholic drinks per day. Oral cancer is more likely to start with the damage of the side of the tongue and the floor of the mouth. And it can be treated with the help of surgery, tooth extractions, and radiotherapy.

Tobacco can result in large cavities around the gum line, making it easier for infections to weaken the tooth. Broken teeth will have to be repaired which is not only expensive but also painful in some cases.

  • Gum Disease
  • Bad Breath
  • Oral Cancer
  • Cavities

No matter how good your teeth look at the surface, smoking leads to serious oral health problems. In most cases, smoking stains on teeth can be treated with whitening procedures. Tooth decay can be treated with fillings, root canals, and crowns. And gum disease will require deep cleaning.

This World No Tobacco Day, take a step towards better oral health! Encourage everyone you know who smokes to quit smoking to fight serious health problems.

Here at Koch Orthodontics, we care about your oral and overall health. We want to ensure you get the best results from your orthodontic treatment. Book a consultation with an experienced orthodontist in Lawrenceville to fight the ill effects of smoking with braces.

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