World No Tobacco Day 2021 in Applecross: Commit to Quit!

On 31 May 2021, there’s no time like the present to kick the habit and start on the path to stop smoking for good.

World No Tobacco Day is an effort from the World Health Organisation to stop the more than 6 million deaths from tobacco use and secondhand smoke around the world.

Smoking can cause a range of issues from serious or critical to less serious to both oral and overall health.

By quitting smoking, over time, you can reduce your risk levels, and the sooner one quits, the greater the reduction in risk levels.

Top 5 Effects of Smoking on Oral Health

1 Gum Disease

Smoking weakens your body’s immune system. This makes it harder to treat a gum infection.

Once you have gum damage, smoking makes it harder for your gums to heal.

Tobacco use in any form (cigarettes, pipes, and smokeless tobacco) increases your risk for gum disease.

2 Oral Cancer

Most people know that smoking can cause lung and throat cancer, but many people still don’t know that it is one of the main causes of mouth cancer too.

Every year thousands of people die from mouth cancer brought on by smoking.

3 Delayed Healing

Smoking slows down blood flow throughout your oral cavity and thus, delays the healing process.

Because of this, simple dental procedures become more complicated:

• Dental implants would have a higher chance to fail
• Tooth extraction site would be more prone to infection
• Gum disease treatment would be less effective

4 Stained Teeth

Smoking or using chewing tobacco products make the teeth enamel more likely to stain.

Once you start using nicotine products, it doesn’t take long for your teeth to take on a yellowish appearance.

5 Bad Breath

Smoking causes bad breath in a number of different ways.

First, the smell of the smoke can linger on your breath. Smoking also dries out your mouth, one of the reasons for bad breath.

Finally, smoking is one of the main causes of gum disease, which is another source of odour from the mouth.

Quit Smoking Today!

Consult your Applecross dentist to create a quitting plan that’s best for you and your oral health.

Call our Applecross office today — simply contact us online or call (08) 9316 0555.

We are located at 729 Canning Hwy in Applecross WA.