Is Vaping Bad For Your Teeth?
Over the past few years, a new trend has known as vaping has taken the country by storm. While the use of cigarettes and other traditional nicotine products has steadily declined thanks to concerted public awareness campaigns, vaping has become an extremely popular alternative to nicotine consumption. While vaping is arguably better than smoking, researchers are learning that this new habit may be having consequences on people’s health that, up until this point, went unnoticed due to a lack of information and research. In today’s post, we here at Salvatore Dental wanted to go over whether or not vaping is having a negative effect on the oral health of those who take part in it. Continue reading below to learn more.
What is Vaping?
For those who are unaware, vaping is a form of nicotine consumption that forgoes traditional combustion methods and instead uses a heating element, known as the coil, to vaporize nicotine infused liquid commonly referred to as e-juice or e-liquid. In the beginning, vaping was looked at as a viable way to help people quit smoking. Because vaping still delivered nicotine but did so without burning tobacco leaves to do so, many people assumed that it was a safer way to satiate the craving for nicotine. Now that vaping has become more mainstream, however, doctors are beginning to wonder if it may be having negative effects that, up until now, have gone unnoticed.
The Effects of Vaping on the Oral Cavity
Like cigarettes, vapor from a vaporizer enters the mouth when it is at its hottest. While e-liquid does not contain as many harmful chemicals as traditional cigarette smoke, researchers have found that many e-liquids contain such toxins as diethylene glycol, a chemical used in antifreeze and lead, and that the menthol additive in many e-liquids has a negative effect on the epithelial cells as well as the fibroblasts within the periodontal ligament (the fibrous connective tissue structure that joins the root of a tooth to the bone in the jaw in which it sits). The effects of vaping largely depend upon the frequency that an individual vapes and their unique response to the chemicals contained within the e-liquid. Most commonly, individuals will exhibit ulcerations and burns on the soft palate as a result of the heat of the e-liquid, however, the connection, at this point, is only a correlation.
With the effect of vaping on the mouth still being studies, we here at Salvatore Dental suggest that our patients avoid vaping and, if that is not an option, limit the amount of vaping that they partake in. Although it may seem like vaping is a safe alternative to cigarettes, further studies need to be conducted to make sure that people are not negatively impacting their oral health.
If you are worried that vaping has negatively impacted your oral health or you simply want to make sure that your mouth is as healthy as possible, please contact us today at Salvatore Dental to schedule an appointment. We have helped multiple Malta area residents with their dental needs and we are certain we can help you make sure that your mouth is as healthy as possible.
