Even though the number of smokers in the UK has dropped to its lowest point, one in six Brits are still smokers. Cigarette sales have been collapsing in the UK for a long time now, but it’s still important to stress the damage that smoking does to your oral health.

There is a long history of studies that have shown that smoking has a detrimental effect on your teeth and gums as well as the rest of your body. Many studies have noted how smoking is a leading cause of gum disease, which, in turn, is one of the main causes of tooth loss in adults, along with tooth decay.

Help with quitting smoking

There is a lot of help out there for people who want to give up smoking. It can be an extremely hard task, especially with the stresses of modern life. Here at Kings Dental Clinic, we try to help as much as we can when it comes to quitting smoking.

In regular check-ups, we advise and encourage smoking cessation in Hammersmith. Our support can come in the form of advice and suggestions on ways to reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke, with the aim of quitting altogether.

We can suggest nicotine products that may help and give advice on the best ways to use them to reach your goals.

What effects does smoking have on my oral health?

Smoking has lots of effects on your oral health. Tobacco actually affects the gum tissue cells, making them more prone to infections from gum diseases. Gum diseases affect three out of every four adults over the age of 35 in the UK and 50% of gum disease is caused by smoking, so it’s a problem that needs attention.

Gum disease isn’t something that just happens in later life. More than half of the teenagers in the UK have some kind of gum disease.

Another huge issue that smoking brings is mouth cancer, which affects thousands of people every year.

Quitting smoking is better for so many aspects of your life and there is plenty of help out there, so why not start your journey today?