Smokers At Higher Risk Of Losing Teeth

It makes sense that smokers would be more likely to lose their teeth. Smoking brings excess amounts of bacteria into the mouth. And smoking over time infects bone and soft tissue of the teeth, disrupting the normal function of gum tissue cells (bad breath, anyone?)

A recent study emphasizes how smokers are more likely to lose their teeth. Researchers at the University of Birmingham and the German Institute of Nutrition found that some smokers were up to 3.6 times more likely to lose their teeth than those who abstained from smoking when compared to female smokers were were found to be 2.5 times more likely to lose some over the nasty habit.

"It's really unfortunate that smoking can hide the effects of gum disease as people often don't see the problem until it is quite far down the line. The good news is that quitting smoking can reduce the risk fairly quickly. Eventually, an ex-smoker would have the same risk for tooth loss as someone who had never smoked, although this can take more than ten years," Professor Thomas Dietrich, lead author of the study, said in a statement.

During the study, researchers analyzed information on over 23,000 participants recruited from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition between 1994 and 1998.

Findings revealed that the association between smoking and tooth loss was typically stronger among younger individuals than those in older groups. Furthermore, the results revealed that the association was dose-decedent. Furthermore, heavy smokers had a higher risk of losing their teeth than smokers who smoked fewer cigarettes.

"In addition to the many noted benefits for cardiovascular health, and risk of lung disease and cancer, it is clear that dental health is yet another reason not to take up smoking, or to quit smoking now," Professor Heiner Boeing of the German Institute of Human Nutrition, said in a statement.

The findings are detailed in the Journal of Dental Research.

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