It is well known that smoking is harmful to your health. It contains over 4,000 harmful chemicals including tar, lead, hydrogen cyanide, acetone and carbon monoxide. Disease processes commonly linked with tobacco use are, cancer, lung disease, heart disease periodontal disease and oral cancers.
Periodontal disease is a bacterial infection that, if left untreated, can lead to bone loss and eventual tooth loss. Smokers are more likely to have periodontal disease, and to have it more severely, than non-smokers. Other oral problems associated with smoking are stained teeth, bad breath, loss of taste and smell, gum recession and mouth sores.
Periodontists have found that smokers who have undergone periodontal treatment have a slower rate of healing and the treatment results are far less predictable compared with non-smokers. Oral cancer is 5-10 times higher in smokers than in non-smokers.
Smoking dramatically decreases the success rate of dental implants
Implants are very predictable in stable healthy mouths. The environment into which an implant is placed directly affects the success of that implant. As previously stated, people who smoke tend to have more aggressive periodontal problems and a slower healing rate. In some cases, smoking can disqualify a patient from being a successful candidate for tooth replacement using dental implants.
