Smoking and Dental Health
Author: Cristian Stan
Smoking is associated with a very wide range of health problems ranging from lung cancer to delayed wound healing. Plenty of anti-smoking campaigns highlight the harmful affects of smoking and work hard to encourage people to give up smoking.
We all know smoking effects not only the smokers but the people around them due to passive smoking. Hence, plenty of non-profit organizations and government funded campaigns have cropped up which aim to get people to give up smoking by highlighting the harmful effects of smoking on general health.
What these campaigns tend to ignore is the effect of smoking on dental health. Neither there exists any campaign nor any awareness in the general public on the harmful effects of smoking on dental health. Cigarette smoke is as good as poison to the oral cavity.
Let us discuss the harmful effects of cigarette smoke on dental health.
Nicotine and Tar are two major components of cigarette smoke. These chemicals have a tendency to stick to the teeth as residue. This heavy residue is responsible for discoloration of the teeth. The discoloration can range from yellowish to dark brown. When a cigarette is being smoked, not all the smoke is being expelled out. Some of the components remain in lungs and some in the oral cavity. Nicotine and Tar are heavy and get settled on the teeth as dark residue. This discoloration is not easily removable. Vigorous brushing can not help the cause either. However, brushing with the tooth whitening pastes in the market tends to lighten the dark stains.
Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer but we can't ignore the fact that over 90% of oral cancer patients are also smokers. This can be attributed to the carcinogenic capacity of cigarette smoke. A study published in the Journal of Periodontology also proves direct correlation between the number of cigarettes and incidence of oral cancer. People who smoked less than a half a pack a day were three times more likely to get oral cancer and people who smoked more than one and half packs each day were six times more likely. Cigarette smoke contains many carcinogens (cancer causing agents).These irritate the oral cavity and initiates cancer formation.
Smoking also hampers wound healing and hence is responsible for failure of many dental procedures. The success of many oral surgeries is affected to the delayed wound healing caused by smoking as smoking hinders the body's defense mechanism.
Recent studies have pointed an increased success of dental implants in non-smokers than in smokers.
A very obvious and annoying effect of smoking is bad breath. The contents of the cigarette smoke cause a typical bad breath known as smokers breath. It also causes Halitosis which is the common bad breath. This is because cigarette smoke causes drying of the mouth and hence reduced salivation. Saliva is an effective anti-microbial agent which fights bad breath. Reduction of salivation causes the bad breath causing bacteria to thrive.
Smoking is held responsible as a causative agent for many cases of advanced Periodontitis.
With so many harmful effects of smoking on oral health, it is best to call it quits today.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/dental-care-articles/smoking-and-dental-health-647302.html
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Is smoking around your dog harmful to your dog? Can it cause cancer in your dog?
I know this owman whose dog died from cancer, when I met her she was/is a smoker she got a new dog. I am wondering if smoking aound your dog can causde cancer like it can in humans?
I remember back in 2003 when we had the firestorms of California, the local health department warned all people to stay indoors. In addition, they said that animals should be brought indoors as well.
With that said, I would imagine that cigarette smoke could have equally detrimental effects on a dog or cat. They say that second hand smoke is a silent killer. Can you imagine how it affects animals who can’t speak up about their ailments?
Below are a couple of links to articles who say smoking could have negative effects on animals.
Is it true that smoking around a dog will keep it from getting worms?
Someone told me that tobacco will get rid of worms in dogs, so if you smoke around your dog, they will be less likely to get worms. Is this true?
Um, I never said I smoked, let alone smoked around a dog. I don’t, I was just wondering if it was true or not.
I would doubt that tobacco is good for anything at all and I, sadly, am a smoker! If you would like a natural way of worming your dogs, start by feeding a raw, natural diet. The fibre in carrot and coconut makes the stomach a very inhospital place for worms. The sulpher in onion and garlic will kill them and also keep other parasites away.
There are many herbals available for both dogs and cats, my favourite is “Herbs for Pets” by Mary Wulff-Tilford.
Do dogs and cats gets high if you’re smoking weed around them?
Just curious.
Does it affect their brains like it does ours?
Thanks.
It does affect their brains, but perhaps not in the same way ours are affected.
Chances are, it is still as bad for them as it is for you.
Smoking around a dog?
I used to think that smoking around a dog was kind of irresponsible of the owner, but I have just had a revelation.
It takes a human 40+ years to get lung cancer, but a dog is never gonna live that long.
Do you think I’m right, that dogs are generally unaffected by ciggarette smoke? BTW I don’t smoke and never will.
a dog does age faster, but I don’t think that means that the dog’s lungs are gonna get cancer 7 times faster, from second hand smoke.
I hear you say that their lungs are smaller but doesn’t that also mean that they’ll inhale less air and “smoke” than a human?
I DONT SMOKE I ALREADY SAID THAT.
BTW havn’t been able to find the journal article that says that dogs are effected by second hand smoke. also could I get some interesting points?
OK so if a dog ages 7 times as fast as a human and gets lung cancer in 5.7 years. then a giant Galapagos Land tortoise that ages at 1/3 the rate of a human will get cancer in 120 years, I dont think so.
anora has no logic. I never said that dogs don’t get cancer. I was jsust saying it would e difficult for them to get LUNG cancer from second hand smoke.
I guess I was wrong, but thanks for the arugment and the info.
Well maybe it won’t affect a dog as much as a person but it still is irresponsible to smoke around the dog because it may cause some damage to him.
Is smoking ciggerettes around my dog bad for my dog’s lungs?
I smoke ciggerttes and someone brought up an interesting topic about smoking around pets, and i would like to know if it will harm my baby.
Well, since a pet’s lifespan is about 10-15 years, I think smoking will have more lasting damage to your own lungs!
I know someone who had to have a lung removed from lung cancer. He just kind of went downhill from there, even though they got all the cancer.
And yes, I’m sure second hand smoke for a dog is still very bad. They can get cancer too.
If you won’t stop smoking for yourself, at least give up the cigs for your dog. And you will have more money to spend on dog toys!