Hygienist Treatment.

High sugary foods and drinks such ranging from gummy treats to a packet of sugary crisps and drinks ranging from fizzy drinks like Coke Cola to energy drinks like Red Bull can be really unhealthy for your teeth. Sugar stains your teeth, weakening the enamel and leaving you susceptible to gum disease and ultimately even mouth cancer. 

People who smoke are at a higher risk of developing mouth cancer (oral), gum problems, losing teeth, decay on the roots of teeth, and complications after tooth removal and gum and oral surgery. 

The most common oral problems affecting people who smoke are:

• Gum (or periodontal) disease.
• Mouth cancer.
• Whitening of the soft tissue in the mouth (called smoker’s keratosis).
• Poor healing after tooth removal (known as dry socket).
• Tooth decay.
• Tooth loss.
• Poor healing after mouth and gum surgery.
• Decreased taste.
• Bad taste in the mouth and bad breath (called halitosis).

This also includes vaping. 

Smoking e-cigarettes or water pipes (known as vaping) – may seem less harmful than smoking regular cigarettes. Yet this may not be the case for the health of your mouth.

When you vape, you inhale e-liquids (also called vaping juice) which, even when labelled ‘nicotine-free’, can contain harmful substances. These include:

• Nicotine.
• Heavy metals.
• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
• Cancer-causing chemicals.

The risk of vaping devices causing problems in your mouth is much higher if they contain nicotine.

The long-term effects of vaping are not fully known. Yet there is some evidence that vaping can cause inflammation in the mouth, which can lead to gum disease and other oral health problems.

Temporary loss of taste may happen in some people (also called vape tongue).

Vaping may be seen as a way to quit smoking. Yet vaping may make it harder to quit smoking completely which increases the risk of diseases associated with tobacco use, such as mouth cancer.

If you are a smoker, there are some things you can do to prevent tooth and gum problems, including:

• Try to quit smoking – speak to your doctor, dentist or contact 436 Dental for guidance and support.
• If you’re finding it difficult to quit smoking, try and reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke to start off with.
• Avoid having a dry mouth. Drink plenty of water and chew sugar-free gum to stimulate saliva flow. This is especially important if you take medications that cause dry mouth.

Alcohol is the second most commonly consumed drug in the United Kingdom. Dentists treat patients on a daily basis who drink alcohol at various levels. It is, therefore, important to appreciate risk levels of alcohol consumption and have an awareness of current guidelines for giving alcohol reduction advice in dental practice. Alcohol has been linked to many oral health effects. These include oral cancer, caries, periodontal disease, halitosis, tooth wear, staining and trauma. Alcohol also has many other wider effects on the general, social and psychological health of patients, which can influence dental treatment. These include drug interactions, liver disease, cardiovascular disease, and compliance with treatment plans and appointments.

Alcohol also dehydrates the body by inhibiting the production of a chemical called ADH, which regulates the amount of urine you excrete. Drinking alcohol actually causes your kidneys to expel more water than it would normally, causing dehydration throughout your body. It can cause atrophy of the salivary glands, thus decreasing your flow of saliva. That is why most people suffer some degree of dry mouth, scientifically known as xerostomia, after drinking.

Dry mouth creates a perfect environment for periodontitis, a disease characterized by bleeding gums, plaque, gum recession, infection, and the development of pockets where the gums pull away from the teeth. Gum disease has been linked to higher incidences of cancer, diabetes, stroke, and heart disease.

A 2015 study in the Journal of Periodontology demonstrated the negative effect that alcohol can have on the gums by assessing a sample of 542 non-drinkers, occasional drinkers, and regular users, with and without periodontitis. It was found that:

• Regular alcohol users without periodontitis had more gum bleeding than non-drinkers.
• Alcohol users with existing periodontitis saw their condition worsen incrementally with frequency of consumption.
• Drinkers without gum disease had more plaque than non-drinkers.
• Alcohol users without gum disease presented pockets between their gums and teeth of 4 millimetres or larger more frequently than non drinkers.

In sum, the study showed that even in people who do not have gum disease, alcohol consumption has a proportional and negative impact on gum health in a variety of ways.

It just doesn’t affect your gums.

People with an alcohol addiction are at real risk for oral health consequences. With higher levels of plaque, heavy drinkers  are 3 times as likely to experience permanent tooth loss. But even if you don’t have dependency on alcohol , it’s important to understand that the presence of alcohol in the mouth is a recipe for tooth decay.

Dehydration decreases the saliva flow in your mouth, and therefore keeps bacteria from being naturally washed off of the enamel of your teeth. This process explains why high alcohol consumption is associated with the presence of plaque and higher incidences of tooth decay.

If you’d like to enjoy a drink, we recommend minimizing the dehydration effect by sipping water in between to replenish the saliva in your mouth. The other reason why alcohol so often leads to decay is that alcohol metabolizes into sugar, which attracts bacteria.  One way to counteract this process is to floss, brush, and use mouthwash after you drink alcohol (or any sugary beverage, for that matter).

Brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste twice a day for about 2 minutes to help keep your teeth and mouth healthy.

Plaque is a film of bacteria that coats your teeth if you don’t brush them properly. It contributes to gum disease and tooth decay.

Tooth brushing stops plaque building up. Try to make sure you clean every surface of all your teeth.

Have regular check-ups with your dentist. Do not put off going for a check-up. Detecting problems early can mean they’re easier to treat.

If problems are not treated, they may lead to damage that’s harder, or even impossible, to repair.

Its most recommended to have check ups every 6 months to ensure good oral health.