It’s no secret that smoking is bad for your oral health. One study from the Canadian Dental Association reports that “smokers have a higher-than-average risk of periodontal disease and poor oral health status.” Once you have dentures, you might be wondering if smoking can still affect your oral health. Although you may not have natural teeth, smoking can affect your full dentures. If you have partial dentures, smoking will still affect your natural teeth, and your dentures. Here are some things that the denturists with Baker Lanoue Denture Clinic want you to know about smoking and dentures. 

Nicotine stains your natural teeth. Although dentures are made of a different material, nicotine can stain your acrylic or porcelain dentures. The discolouration may not be noticeable at first, but over time with regular smoking, your dentures will develop a yellow tinge, darkening to a brown colour. You cannot use whitening products to bleach your dentures, nor does scrubbing work to remove the stain. Those stains are permanent until you replace the dentures. In addition, your dentures can absorb the smell of cigarettes, just as your clothes do. Smoking can make your dentures smell bad, even when you are not smoking.  

Tobacco products irritate the tissues in your mouth, including your gums. Your gums can become swollen and sensitive to pressure. Wearing your dentures can be uncomfortable. Eating and speaking might be more difficult, because it is harder to exert pressure on your dentures when your gums are inflamed or irritated. Your dentures may not fit well, because the gums will shrink and become recessed as you smoke. 

Your natural teeth help to maintain the bone density in your jaw. Tooth loss increases the risk that your jaw will recede. Implant retained dentures can reduce the risk of bone loss. Smoking increases the rate of bone tissue loss in your jaw, whether you have natural teeth, implant dentures or full dentures. If you keep smoking with your dentures, you can still have bone loss in your jaw, making your face appear older. 

Nicotine constricts the blood vessels in your body, limiting the blood that travels to different organs. In the mouth, smoking can make it harder to get blood to your gums. This makes it harder for your gums to heal when they are injured, irritated or inflamed. When wearing your dentures, your gums need to be healthy for a good fit.   

Quitting smoking isn’t easy, but there are resources in Ontario that can help. The Baker Lanoue Denture Clinic can help you find solutions to your denture problems as you change your habits to be healthier. Contact our team for professional dental care and a consultation to keep your mouth healthy.  

If you live in Windsor or the surrounding area, please call 519-252-7772 to book your appointment or request a consultation online.