Periodontal Disease & Tobacco

Smoking is damaging to the health of your Gums.

You are probably familiar with the links between tobacco use and lung disease, cancer, and heart disease. Tobacco use has a drastically negative effect on your periodontal health as well. It may result in even more severe periodontal disease than similarly susceptible non-users of tobacco. In addition, your chance of developing oral cancer increases with the use of all forms of tobacco including smokeless tobacco.

Chemicals in tobacco such as nicotine and tar confuse your immune system and shrink the blood vessels that supply nutrients to your periodontal tissues. This increases the onset and severity of periodontal disease and compromises all treatment efforts. Reducing tobacco use with the goal of quitting will drastically improve your ability to prevent and manage your gum disease in addition to improving your quality and longevity of life.