What You Need to Know About Vaping and Your Teeth

Even if you yourself don’t vape, odds are you’ve seen someone on the street creating puffs of air from what appears to be a pen. You may have noticed that it doesn’t smell like regular smoke. That’s because it’s actually water vapor. While using e-cigarettes seems safer than traditional tobacco smoking, no one knows the long-terms effects that vaping can have on your body and your oral health. That’s why an orthodontist in Newark, OH is here to talk about everything you need to know about how vaping affects your teeth.

Is Vaping Safe?

Multiple studies have confirmed that vaping is significantly less harmful, at least in the short-term, than smoking traditional cigarettes, mainly because e-cigarettes do not contain tar or carbon monoxide. However, as no one knows how vaping affects your body long-term, it’s ultimately best to abstain from the habit, as it may be more harmful than we first thought.

Vaping was originally created as a way for smokers to wean themselves off of regular cigarettes in a less self-destructive way. However, because e-cigarettes can come in a variety of crazy flavors and may contain any amount of nicotine, even non-smokers have started to pick them up. Many of them find themselves unable to quit the habit. Although it might be safer than traditional smoking, there’s no way of knowing for sure.

How Does Vaping Affect Your Oral Health?

E-cigarettes may or may not contain nicotine, which has been shown to be detrimental to your dental health. It can cause or exacerbate issues such as:

• Teeth grinding, which contributes to broken or worn-down teeth
• Gingivitis, which leads to gum disease
• Dry mouth, which can result in cavities

Some studies have shown that vaping does not stain your teeth in the same way that cigarettes do. Again, that may be because we aren’t sure of its effects down the road. Staining may only occur after several years of using a vape.

The bottom line is that no one is certain of the effects that vaping can have on your oral health. It may cause problems down the road that we can’t even imagine, or it may be almost completely harmless. However, it’s best to abstain from the habit for now, as it can affect the health of your smile.

About the Author

Dr. Timothy Wigal is a Newark, OH orthodontist who graduated from the West Virginia University School of Dentistry with the highest honors. He then completed a three-year residency program focused on orthodontics before earning his certificate of specialty in orthodontics from the same university. He believes that a healthy, straight smile is a happy smile, and can help you in many aspects of life. For more info on how you can have a straighter smile, visit Dr. Wigal’s website or call (740) 281-0445.