With all the news in the press about vaping and children, it made us think at Get Dental Plans, how does vaping affect your oral health?
Through offering dental insurance plans for companies, we are well aware of how important it is for employers to protect their employees overall health. There are many studies showing how protecting your oral health helps to protect your overall health, so what impact does vaping have on your oral health? With mouth cancer rates on the rise and smoking a major contributor, how safe are vapes?
With one in four people in the UK struggling to get an NHS appointment and an increase in vaping, what are the risks to oral health?
With the Government offering free vapes to encourage people to give up smoking, searches for the effects of vaping on teeth have increased by 80%. Quitting smoking will lead to major improvements to oral health and reduction in risk of disease development or progression eg oral cancer risk reduces. So is this a risk worth taking?
Exposing your gums to a hot, drying vapour will increase the risk of gum disease and bad breath, while flavoured vapes will increase the amount of sugar in your mouth, potentially causing cavities. However most vapes use sucrose or other sugar replacements, so this could be less of an issue.
For those with periodontitis the response to periodontal therapy is improved. E-cigarette aerosol does not contain tar, carbon monoxide or high doses of known carcinogens
Additionally, nicotine is a stimulant that often causes tooth grinding - which can wear away enamel and cause tooth sensitivity. Limiting your nicotine intake, keeping your teeth clean, and drinking plenty of water is the best way to try and negate the negative effects vaping can have on your oral health.
Moving from smoking to vaping, you will see an improvement in your oral health as smoking exposes your mouth to a myriad of poisonous chemicals. Health experts advise that if you are starting to vape, this should only be as a way to help you to quit completely and not as a replacement for smoking. The current NICE guidance is that users should use e-cigarettes for ‘for long enough to prevent a return to smoking’. They should stop using them ‘when they are ready to do so’. This will be a very individual decision based on the person’s circumstances.
In conclusion, if you are a smoker, using vapes to quit smoking could have a very positive effect on your oral health. However, for those who have never smoked before, especially young people, there is an element of risk in allowing unnecessary chemicals into your mouth and upsetting the natural biomes that are present.
If you would like any advice on how to help your employees oral health with a company dental plan, please contact us today.
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