Electric cigarettes and vaping have been all over the news recently because of their harmful affects on the body, but are they terrible for your dental health as well? This topic is all over the news today because everyone thought that e-cigarettes and vaping were the much safer alternative to smoking traditional tobacco products. Instead of inhaling all the dangerous chemicals that are known to be associated with tobacco products, vaping and e-cigs were thought to have cut illness risks since they didn’t have all the same chemicals.
As of 10/08/2019 there have been nearly 1,299 lung injury cases associated with the use of e-cigs and vaping products across the United States and from those cases there have been 26 confirmed deaths associated with these products. There is current research going on now at the University of Rochester Medical Center connecting vaping and damaged gum tissue. These researchers suggested that e-cigarettes and vaping are “equally damaging to the gums and teeth as conventional cigarettes.” If you’re not ready to quit yet here are a few ways to help you better your oral health. Doctors understand that going cold turkey isn’t always as easy as it seems, but there are several different things you can do to at least minimize your current use of vaping or using e-cigarettes.
1. Monitoring your oral health. This will require you check for any signs of irritation or damage to your gums, teeth and the surrounding tissues. Some signs to look for are receding gumlines or your gums are bleeding. Some other signs can include loose teeth and bad breath.
2. Reduce your use. If you can’t just stop and go cold turkey then consider slowly decreasing your use. If you are using your e-cig or vape many times a day, try cutting it back to only two or three times. Once you’ve accomplished that, do the same thing and cut it in half to only one or two times and then finally you can put it away for good.
3. Visiting your dentist for regular cleanings and checkups. This will ensure and help monitor your oral health. There is only so much you can do from home, so seeing your dentist regularly will make sure that there were no serious affects caused from vaping. The most important thing is to be honest with your dentist so they know and can give you advice for any potential issues that can come later on from using your e-cig or vape.
If you haven’t been to the dentist in awhile and are afraid you may be experiencing some issue from smoking e-cigarettes, vape pens or regular tobacco cigarettes then it’s time to give Philly Dentistry a call at 215-568-6222. We will take care of all your dental needs in the comfort of our Center City, Philadelphia location. Don’t forget to follow us on social media to stay up to date with all the latest news in our office. Thanks for reading.