Save Your Dental Implants by Quitting Smoking

There are a lot of different habits that can damage your teeth, such as drinking too much soda. However, there is no habit worse for your teeth than smoking. Not only does smoking result in bad breath and severe tooth discoloration, but it can also weaken your mouth to the point where you will be susceptible to tooth decay and gum disease. And, if you are a smoker who is seeking treatment with dental implants for your missing teeth, smoking can actually lead to your implant failing. Today, Dr. Donian Shen is blogging from Mountain View, CA to talk about how smoking affects your teeth.

Save Your Dental Implants by Quitting Smoking

Smoking is detrimental to the dental implant process because it can cause your implant to fail during the recovery period. During the implant procedure, an implant fixture is placed in the empty space left behind by your missing tooth. While the implant heals, osseointegration occurs, which is the process of your implant fixture being accepted by your jawbone and gums as a natural piece of your jaw structure. However, every now and then it is possible for this process to be interrupted by an inflammation of the tissue around the jawbone. This is called peri-implantitis and, while it is possible for this condition to occur in any patient, it is far more likely in patients who smoke.

Smoking has many other negative effects on your oral health. For instance, smoking slows the circulation of blood in your body, making it much more difficult for your body to naturally heal itself. It is also possible for the nicotine in cigarettes to damage the tissues that make up your jaw, teeth, gums, and facial muscles. This kind of damage can drastically increase your changes of tooth decay and even losing more teeth.

It is also true that smoking can increase the rate at which your jawbone deteriorates. This deterioration can lead to some unattractive cosmetic effects because our jawbone is party responsible for our facial structure. When your jawbone deteriorates, you are losing a lot of the support your face needs to maintain its shape. As a result, patients suffering from jawbone deterioration tend to suffer from hollow cheeks, resulting in a “sunken appearance”. It is also common for the skin directly around your jawline to prematurely wrinkle. As a result of these two problems, people who suffer from jawbone deterioration tend to be described as appearing aged or unhealthy.

Call and Schedule a Consultation in Mountain View, CA

If you are seeking treatment for missing teeth with dental implants, yet still continue to smoke, it is very important that you consider giving up the habit. Not only can smoking prevent your implant treatment from being a success, but it can also end up costing you even more teeth on account of the conditions it can bring about. If you would like to learn more about the effects of smoking or about what dental implants can do for your smile, we encourage you to contact us and schedule a no-obligation consultation with dental implant provider, Dr. Donian Shen, today.