Tobacco Dental Health Risks
Tobacco is a combination of chemicals that are highly addictive. In addition to the negative short & long term health issues associated with the heart and lungs, cigarettes and chewing tobacco also affect the mouth. The most obvious effect is bad breath. With prolonged use other more damaging side-effects will occur. It is never too late to stop using tobacco, but it is best to never start.

Q: What causes Canker Sores?
A: The precise mechanism by which canker sores form has not been definitively determined but it is likely that their development is related to a reaction of an individual's own immune system. Canker sores are thought to form when, for unexplained reasons, a person's immune system identifies the presence of chemical molecules that it does not recognize. The presence of these molecules activates an attack by the immune system's lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell), somewhat like when a person's immune system attacks a transplanted organ. The carnage of the lymphocytes' attack on these unrecognized molecules results in the type of mouth ulcers we term canker sores.

Q: What does tobacco and dental health have to do with one another?
A: For severe - and early - gum problems the bad guy is tobacco. Not only does smoking and spit tobacco lead to bad breath and stained, yellowed teeth but recent research also shows that tobacco is a leading cause of gum disease. Those who smoke cigarettes or chew tobacco are more likely to have plaque and tartar buildup and to show signs of advanced gum disease. They are also more likely to develop mouth cancer in the future.
Tobacco causes an increased occurrence of gum disease in teens and young adults. Gum disease, also known as periodontal disease, is an infection of the tissues and bone that support the teeth. If gum disease is not treated it can become very serious, causing teeth to become loose or fall out. Gum disease - not age - is the biggest cause of tooth loss in adults in the United States.

Q: Isn’t Spit Tobacco okay?
A: Spit tobacco (snuff and chewing tobacco) originally came about when baseball players started using it to keep their mouths from getting dry in dusty ballparks. Sucking or chewing just a little spit tobacco allows nicotine to be absorbed into the bloodstream through the tissues in your mouth. You don't even need to swallow. As with cigarettes, spit tobacco is just as addictive and bad things to occur in the mouth.
Spit tobacco can cause various problems such as cracking and bleeding lips and gums, not too mention gum disease. In addition to gum disease, prolonged use of spit tobacco can lead to cancer in the mouth.

Q: Why is it hard to quit?
A: Quitting can be tough - at least for many people. Users of tobacco may have started because their friends did or because it seemed cool. But they keep on using tobacco because they're addicted to nicotine, one of the chemicals in cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. Nicotine is both a stimulant and a depressant. That means nicotine increases the heart rate at first and makes people feel more alert (like caffeine, another stimulant). Then it causes depression and fatigue. The depression and fatigue - and the drug withdrawal from nicotine - make people crave the use of tobacco to perk up again. According to many experts, the nicotine in tobacco is as addictive as cocaine or heroin. But don't be discouraged; about 44 million Americans have already quit smoking for good.