Vaping, or e-smoking, is inhaling and exhaling aerosol products using a vaping device like a vape pen or e-cigarette, or electronic cigarette. The device heats its liquid content to produce an aerosol, which you inhale. The aerosol, which is commonly mistaken for vapor, mainly contains nicotine, flavors, and other chemicals that can damage oral and general health. Vaping has become more popular in the last decade. Over the past decade, researchers have studied the effects of vaping, particularly on oral health.
Vaping is highly discouraged by dentists and other oral health experts for its adverse effects on your teeth, gums, and other structures within your mouth. It increases your risk of gum disease, tooth sensitivity, and decay. It also causes dryness in the mouth, which causes halitosis, or bad breath, and creates a perfect thriving environment for harmful oral bacteria.
Here are some ways vaping is bad for your oral health:
Vaping Increases Your Risk of Cavities
Vaping is a great contributor to tooth decay or cavities. It creates an environment in the mouth that promotes the growth of harmful bacteria that weaken your natural teeth’s enamel. Even without sugar, vaping liquids contain flavorings that can feed harmful oral bacteria, although the evidence on this varies. Continued vaping makes the environment even worse, encouraging the continuous growth of cavity-causing bacteria. Cavities can form and quickly progress without timely treatment. Without timely treatment, more of your teeth can be affected. Cavities affect the natural teeth's structure, strength, functionality, and appearance.
Additionally, the nicotine content in vaping affects saliva production in the mouth. Saliva plays a crucial role in the mouth. In addition to forming a protective barrier on your teeth against attack by harmful bacteria, it neutralizes acids in the mouth, reducing their impact on the enamel. Saliva also keeps your mouth clean by washing away food particles from your mouth. The production must be consistent to keep your teeth and gums protected. Once nicotine reduces production, the mouth cannot naturally cleanse itself or neutralize acids from foods and drinks. This increases your risk of tooth decay.
Vaping can also directly weaken or damage your enamel. The enamel is generally robust. It can remain strong if it continuously remineralizes itself from the foods you consume and the products you use to clean your teeth. However, strong elements like acids from foods and chemicals from vaping can weaken the enamel, making it more susceptible to damage.
It Puts You At Risk of Gum Disease
Gum disease, also called periodontal disease or periodontal disease, is an oral infection that affects soft tissues within your mouth and the bone supporting your teeth. It is caused by harmful bacteria that cause plaque and tartar buildup on the gums, which causes an inflammation that loosens the connection between the gums and teeth. The disease starts mildly, as gingivitis, and progresses into periodontitis if not treated promptly. It is one of the leading causes of tooth loss and can cause an infection that can significantly affect oral and general health.
Nicotine, which is a significant component of vaping, affects the flow of blood to the gums, affecting the oral microbiome and causing your mouth to dry. These are generally ways in which your risk of gum disease increases. When nicotine restricts blood vessels, it impairs the delivery of critical nutrients, including oxygen, to the gums. The hindered blood flow affects the gum’s natural ability to fight infections and heal. When inflammation starts at the gums due to vaping, and the gums cannot fight it, it spreads to the gums and could cause an oral infection that affects the tooth’s underlying structures.
Remember that vaping also inhibits saliva production in the mouth. A dry mouth cannot cleanse itself. If food particles combine with oral bacteria in the mouth, they cause a chemical reaction that produces a strong acid that causes plaque and tartar buildup on the gums. The buildup causes irritation and inflammation on the gums, which spreads to the mouth and the underlying structures.
Vaping Causes Tooth Sensitivity
Tooth sensitivity occurs when you experience a temporary sharp pain in your tooth after being triggered by specific stimuli. You experience this pain when the dentin, a layer of your tooth below the enamel, is exposed due to several factors, including tooth damage or enamel erosion. The dentin has small tubules leading to sensitive nerves. Once exposed, your tooth becomes highly sensitive to changes in temperature in the mouth or acidic or sweet foods. You could also experience pain or sensitivity when brushing or flossing. It becomes difficult to eat or maintain oral hygiene habits.
The leading causes of tooth sensitivity are gum recession, enamel erosion, chipped or cracked teeth, and recent dental procedures.
Vaping causes tooth sensitivity in different ways. First, chemicals in vaping can irritate your teeth’s nerves, causing a painful reaction when you eat, drink, brush, or expose your teeth to cold air. These chemicals also weaken your teeth, causing enamel erosion and exposing the dentin in most teeth. Vaping also reduces saliva production in the mouth, which increases your risk of cavities. Cavities damage the enamel, exposing your tooth’s underlying structures to external elements. You will likely experience sensitivity on the affected teeth.
It Discolors Your Teeth
Tooth discoloration occurs when the natural color of your teeth changes, becoming dull, stained, or spotty. It is a common issue that various factors, including dental trauma, aging, colored foods and drinks, and habits like smoking or vaping, can cause. It affects the health of your teeth and appearance. If left untreated, discolored teeth can easily develop cavities.
Nicotine, which is one of the main components of vaping, stains teeth a brown or yellow color. This is a natural chemical reaction that worsens when nicotine is exposed to oxygen. If you continuously use e-cigarettes, this will likely happen sooner rather than later, regardless of how well you brush and floss your teeth.
The flavorings and other chemicals in vaping are very strong and can stick to the enamel with time, causing your teeth to stain. The staining will be severe and complicated to remove with regular brushing or flossing. However, you can benefit from teeth whitening procedures and products.
The moisture and heat from vaping aggravate the staining issue, increasing the stains and other health-related problems linked to vaping.
Other effects of vaping on oral health can also contribute to teeth staining. For example, reduced saliva and enamel erosion weaken the strong enamel that protects your teeth from staining. When the enamel weakens and breaks or erodes, the dentin, which is susceptible to staining, becomes stained. This increases your teeth’s risk of discoloration.
Whitening treatments may offer temporary improvement, but continued vaping will cause new stains. You have to stop the habit of enjoying beautiful and healthy teeth.
It Can Cause Oral Sores and Lesions
Some people also experience oral sores and lesions after prolonged vaping. These side effects could be chemical irritation, slowed healing due to inhibited blood flow to the gums, and dry mouth due to reduced saliva production. Remember that aerosols from vaping contain strong and harmful chemicals, like nicotine and flavorings, that could irritate soft tissues within your mouth, causing lesions, sores, and ulcers.
Also, vaping affects the production of saliva, which protects your mouth’s inner linings from irritations and inflammation. A dry mouth is at a higher risk of sores and lesions from unhealed irritations and infections. The reduced blood flow due to nicotine from vaping affects your gum’s natural healing abilities. Thus, you will likely end up with sores in the mouth from minor injuries when biting, chewing, or brushing your teeth. These can worsen due to prolonged healing.
Typically, vaping increases your risk of oral infections. Nicotine affects your mouth’s immune system, making you more vulnerable to oral and viral infections like oral candida, or oral thrush. These can also cause sores and lesions.
Some users can also experience nicotine stomatitis, or a smoker’s palate, hairy tongue, or discolored tongue, and angular cheilitis, or sores that develop in the corners of the mouth.
It Increases Your Risk of Oral Cancer
Oral, or mouth, cancer is a cancer that affects the tissues within your mouth or throat. It develops on various parts, including the gums, tongue, and the roof or floor of the mouth. It can also affect the linings of your cheeks. It develops slowly and escalates very quickly if left untreated. Thus, it is easy to ignore, especially if the early signs can be ignored.
Vaping can increase your risk of oral cancer in various ways. For example, it lowers your mouth’s immune system by inhibiting blood flow to the gums and other parts. Also, your risk of oral cancer increases if you are more susceptible to gum disease, cavities, and other severe oral conditions. Vaping also introduces carcinogenic elements to your mouth, which potentially affects oral cells, which could lead to oral cancer.
Oral cancer can severely affect your oral and general health. It affects your ability to speak, eat, and perform other basic functions of your teeth and mouth. It presents itself with symptoms like lumps or sores in the mouth. You will experience difficulties speaking and swallowing if they occur in your throat. These sores are generally painful, and the pain deteriorates as they spread within the mouth.
If not detected and treated early, oral cancer can cause excruciating pain, numbness, and even disfigurement of your mouth or face. Treatment for advanced oral cancer is also painful and can lead to other severe side effects, like difficulties in saliva production and changes in taste.
It Can Cause Complications With Dental Procedures
Nicotine and other harmful chemicals you consume when vaping can significantly affect any dental procedures you have undergone to treat an underlying dental issue, restore missing teeth, or improve your teeth’s appearance. These chemicals affect the soft tissues within your mouth and impair your body’s natural healing process, making it difficult to heal after a dental procedure or damaging it altogether.
Remember that nicotine in an e-cigarette affects your mouth’s immune system and inhibits blood flow in the gums and other parts of the mouth. This will affect how well your body responds to treatment. Prolonged healing can also lead to oral infections that could take longer to heal, affecting your general health.
In addition to inhibited blood flow and increased risk of infection, vaping can delay bone growth or bone regeneration, which is essential for the effectiveness of such procedures as dental implants. Bone growth is also necessary since it forms a strong foundation for natural or artificial teeth. This occurs due to reduced blood flow, which affects bone growth around a dental implant.
Other than dental implants, vaping will likely affect teeth extractions. The inhalation of aerosol in vaping can dislodge the blood clot that forms after tooth extraction, which is crucial for healing. This results in a dry socket, which is an excruciating condition. The exposed wound is also at risk of infection.
Vaping can also affect a root canal by prolonging the healing process and increasing your risk of infections.
Find a Competent Dentist Near Me
In addition to preventing and treating oral and dental conditions, dentists in Northridge offer information on ways to improve oral health and avoid common and severe dental and oral problems. Vaping is one of the most common habits dentists warn against because of its severe impact on oral health. Vaping introduces harmful chemicals into your mouth, including nicotine, which increases your risk of severe problems like gum disease, oral cancer, and cavities. It also lowers your immune system and slows down blood flow to the mouth, which affects your oral and general health. This information can help you make an informed decision regarding your habits for improved well-being.
At Northridge Advanced Dentistry, we have detailed information regarding vaping and its harmful effects on your teeth. We offer this information alongside other critical services for improved oral and general health. Call us at 818-701-3010 to learn more about vaping and other harmful habits that affect your teeth, gums, and bones.
