Smoking is the Cause of Dental Problems
If you smoke regularly, you may have already discovered that smoking causes issues with halitosis and chronic bad breath. Even though it may be hard to quit smoking right away, it also causes a number of health issues, including the risk of oral cancer, which can be found in the lips, tongue, mouth, throat, or salivary glands. Some of the early symptoms of oral cancer include a small toothache, or you may not experience any symptoms at all. Oral cancer is a very serious by the time that it is normally detected, which is why it is important to examine your mouth often so that you can detect any changes to be assessed by your dentist. In fact, these days, many dental professionals now offer oral cancer screenings, so if you are a smoker, this is something that should be done with your regular checkup to protect the health of your mouth.
One of the earliest signs of oral cancer is bad breath or halitosis, whether or not you smoke regularly. Other symptoms may include white or red patches on the mouth, lumps, problems chewing, difficulty moving the jaw, feeling like something is stuck in your throat, numbness, or changes in the voice. This is the reason that you should stop smoking tobacco altogether since it is one of the greatest risk factors for the development of oral cancer. The right thing to do is to have regular checkups with your dentist, and to also maintain good oral hygiene practices by brushing and flossing on a daily basis.
Even if you aren’t at risk for oral cancer, smoking will still cause halitosis because it creates toxins within the mouth. Smoking can also dehydrate the mouth and mix with bacteria on the tongue to create long-term halitosis, so it is important to quit smoking as quickly as possible to prevent these issues. If you are a regular smoker, you must drink water as often as possible to attempt to flush the toxins out of your system to protect the health of your teeth and gums. All dentist will recommend that you quit smoking as quickly as possible, but if you are still a smoker, you should focus on your oral health care to prevent disease and damage to your teeth and gums.
Many people don’t realize how many problems smoking can cause to their oral health, unless they already suffer from halitosis. If you are struggling with chronic bad breath as a smoker, it could be the sign of something more serious, like oral cancer, which should be examined as quickly as possible. Take the opportunity to quit smoking to contribute to the overall health of your body, which will also protect you from the development of diseases and halitosis when it comes to your oral health. This is a positive move in the right direction by protecting the health of your mouth and preventing long-term health problems as a smoker!
