Smoking has many negative effects on your teeth. These effects are not all cosmetic; in some cases smoking can cause serious damage. We all have heard that the chemicals in cigarettes have severe effects on our bodies, lungs, heart etc but what does it do to our teeth and gums.

There are the cosmetic effects that cause beautiful people to look less attractive. This is the discoloration and stains in teeth, and the smell from the bad breath. However smoking takes a toll on your mouth in a much deeper way.

The chances of issues with gum disease, tooth loss, decay, and bone loss is higher due to the chemicals that increase the bacteria that cause plaque. The gum diseases that will occur due to smoking, will manifest in the swelling of gums, then will weaken the state of the gums that holds the teeth in place. With this in place, the teeth have nothing to hold on to and will be sure to fall out.

Smoking has a negative effect on the human immune system. In turn this weekend state of immunity against germs, illness, and bacteria means that your body will be at a significantly higher risk for gum and tooth diseases.

Smoking causes a trigger effect for the bacteria in your mouth to feed off of. Everything we eat, drink, or smoke increases the bacteria in our mouth to start creating plaque, however, there are some things like smoking that increase the speed of this process.

In order to help your teeth stay healthy and strong the best answer of course would be to quit smoking. That is going to eliminate the problem, and you can start a treatment with your dentists help to start the repair of your gums and teeth.

However if quitting smoking is not something you wan to do, there are things you can do that may be of some help. Go into your dentist and let him or her know that you smoke. This will help the dentist to know if there are mouthwashes, or toothpastes that can help you.

The dentist may be able to prescribe a medication that can help with the gum disease. There are also cleaning and gum treatments that may help with the recession of the gum line. Also maintaining proper oral hygiene will slow down the process of deterioration. So keep the normal good hygiene practices up.

Flossing, brushing and rinsing your mouth as often as you can will help. The way the bacteria are affected by the smoking is this. When any item uses saliva in your mouth, eating, drinking, smoking etc, you produce the saliva and the saliva has the bacteria, so therefore each time you do any of these things, it is necessary to weaken the state of the bacteria by using proper oral hygiene steps. However, like sweets, sugars, carbohydrates and carbonation there are some things like smoking that trigger the bacteria at a faster and higher rate. That is why for the benefit of your gums and teeth minimizing these habits is so important.

Teeth loss, gum disease and bone disease can have a life changing affect. This is the reason that so often dentists recommend minimizing the choices in life that increase the risk of these problems. It is your mouth, and your teeth, consider how long you would have to live with out your teeth. There are dentures, but nothing will be the same if you loose your teeth, to gum disease and bone disease in your jaw because of smoking.

Smoking has a very negative effect on our teeth, gums and mouth as a whole. Think about your future, next time you think of lighting a smoke, there is much more at risk than just trying to kiss someone and having him or her think you have bad breath. The future of your smile is all in your fingertips.