3.11 Dental diseases

Show / hide chapter menu

3.0 Background

3.1 Tobacco—a leading preventable cause of death and disease

3.2 Cardiovascular diseases

3.3 Lung cancer

3.4 Respiratory diseases

3.5 Other cancers caused by or associated with smoking

3.6 Reproductive health and smoking

3.7 Pregnancy and smoking

3.8 Infant health and smoking

3.9 Increased susceptibility to infection in smokers

3.10 Eye diseases

3.11 Dental diseases

3.12 Gastrointestinal diseases

3.13 Bone density and risk of fractures

3.14 Effects of smoking on the skin

3.15 Smoking and complications in medical treatment

3.16 Smoking and diabetes

3.17 Poorer levels of general health

3.18 Smoking, motor vehicle crashes and other injuries

3.19 Burns and fires caused by tobacco use

3.20 Tobacco poisoning

3.21 Health effects for younger smokers

3.22 Genetic influences on tobacco-caused disease

3.23 Smoking, dementia and cognitive decline

3.24 Lung disease, smoking and occupational exposures

3.25 Air pollution, cigarette smoking and ill health

3.26 Health effects of smoking brands that claim to deliver lower levels of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide

3.27 Health effects of smoking tobacco in other forms

3.28 Health 'benefits' of smoking?

3.29 Morbidity (ill health) attributable to tobacco-caused disease

3.30 Deaths attributable to tobacco by disease category

3.31 Morbidity and mortality due to tobacco-caused disease and socioeconomic disadvantage

3.32 Health effects of smoking other substances

3.33 Health effects of chewing tobacco, and of other smokeless tobacco products

3.34 Public perceptions of tobacco as a drug, and knowledge and beliefs about the health consequences of smoking

3.35 Health benefits of cessation

3.36 The global tobacco pandemic

Acknowledgments

References

As noted above, smoking is a cause of cancers of the oral cavity. Smoking also damages the soft and hard tissue structures that support the teeth, known as the periodontium.5 The periodontium includes the gingiva, the tissue covering the root surfaces of the teeth, and the ligaments that attach the tooth root to the jaw. The gingiva is the soft tissue covering the gums and overlapping the teeth. Gingivitis is an inflammation of the gingiva, triggered by the build up of plaque, leading to reddening of the gums, bleeding and swelling. Untreated gingivitis can lead to chronic periodontitis, an inflammation of the gingiva and the adjacent tooth attachment apparatus. Plaque formed on the teeth spreads below the gum line behind the gingiva, triggering an inflammatory response. A range of symptoms may result, including bleeding, swelling, gum recession, and separation of the gingiva from the surface of the tooth, which in turn harbours further infection. This can lead to bone loss, loosening of teeth, development of abscesses in soft tissue and bone, a greater risk of decay of the exposed root surfaces of the tooth (root-surface caries) and tooth loss.5

Smoking causes periodontitis. Increased tobacco use and longer duration of smoking are associated with a higher risk of dental damage, and cessation appears to reduce the risk. It is thought that smoking causes periodontitis through its impairment of the body's immune response, making the smoker more susceptible to bacterial infection, and also that smoking impairs the regeneration and repair of periodontal tissues. According to estimates from the United States of America, more than 50% of all cases of adult periodontitis are attributable to cigarette smoking, signalling a key role in prevention and education for dental health professionals.5