SMOKING MASKS SYMPTOMS OF GUM DISEASE

Nothing like kicking a bad habit when it's down...

It is old news that smokers are at increased risk of gum disease (periodontitis), but now it seems its worse. Now it appears that smoking covers gum bleeding, one of the important indicators of the presence of gum disease.

Quitting, will begin to improve the situation quite quickly but will take ten years before the risk is equal to a non-smoker. It's hoped that revealing this information will encourage people to quit before more serious illnesses such as lung cancer can appear.

Two other findings; the association between smoking and tooth loss is more marked in younger people than older people plus the effect is dose-dependent. So heavier smokers are more likely to suffer the effects of smoking on oral health.

Another reason to look again at the approaching 'Stoptober' as a good opportunity to quit.

Header image:

"Filthy Habit by SillyPuttyEnemies" by Sillyputtyenemies - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Filthy_Habit_by_SillyPuttyEnemies.jpg#/media/File:Filthy_Habit_by_SillyPuttyEnemies.jpg