Many people, whether they smoke or not, may not realize what a big effect smoking has on your teeth.  It is often talked about how many horrible affects it can have on your lungs and heart, but the effect it has on teeth is rarely discussed. 

Smoking can have devastating affects on your teeth.  The worst, and unfortunately the most common, outcome is the loss of teeth.  Smoking triggers the accumulation plaque on the teeth which leads to tarter build up.  Tarter is a tough, sticky substance that builds up around the gums and causes the gums to become irritated and inflamed. This in itself can cause horrendous pain and serious problems.  This can even initiate the beginning stages of gum disease.  Gum disease is also another serious problem that smoking can cause in your mouth.  At this point, bacteria in the mouth can house itself in the tarter and continue to grow and multiply.  The bacteria will then move from the tarter into the already effected gums and the gums become infected.  The gums will swell and the structure and formation of the teeth weaken which then causes the teeth to fall out.  The bacteria and infection can also spread into the jaw which speeds tooth loss and can cause other problems in the jaw, including bone loss. 

Smoking can also have other less significant, but just as upsetting, affects on your teeth.  Severe discoloration of the teeth is extremely common for smokers.  It is almost guaranteed that you will experience some degree of staining on your teeth if you are a smoker.  Depending on the extent of the discoloration, these stains could be tremendously hard to remove.  Smoking also causes chronic bad breath, which can be caused by both the damage it causes in the lungs, as well as the decay of teeth and growth of bacteria it promotes in the mouth. 

Chewing tobacco can have just as many, if not worse, affects on the teeth and gum and cigarettes.  The worst consequence of chewing tobacco is cancer.  It leads to cancer of the throat, tongue, jaw, and mouth.  Tobacco is also a huge culprit in staining the teeth.  It can cause discoloration that may never be removeable.

Many people who smoke believe that these problems can be avoided or prevented by brushing after smoking, and more specifically, by using toothpastes made specifically for smokers.  However, these toothpastes may do more damage instead of good to your already sensitive teeth.   They are made to be very abrasive to remove tarter build up and stains, but the harshness of it can cause severe damage to the teeth by wearing away the enamel.  This can then lead to more accumulation of bacteria and most definitely more cavities.

Many smokers tend to believe that other factors are causing their oral problems, or that the problems simply aren't as bad as they could be. This is a big mistake, people who smoke need to be aware of the potential problems they could face and how big of an affect this could have on their life.  Smokers need to be especially careful in taking care of their teeth and have extremely good oral care habits.  They need to brush more often than non-smokers and be careful in choosing the products they will use to care for their teeth.  However, the only way to eliminate all the problems that smoking causes to your teeth and to your mouth is to quit completely.