By now almost everyone knows that smoking has been linked with lung disease, cancer, and heart disease. But most people are not aware that smokers are much more likely to have serious dental and oral health problems.
Periodontal disease is an infection of the teeth, gums, and the bone that surrounds your teeth, caused by the bacteria that grow in your mouth around your teeth.
The bacteria infect the tooth roots and cause pockets of infection to form in the gums and ultimately destroy the bone around your teeth.
Smoking reduces the production of saliva, which washes away bacteria from the teeth, and it damages the body’s ability to fight off infection.
