10/03/2022
I think this picture can explain very well the difference between a natural healthy tooth and one with disease.
The first tooth had to come out because the patient did not have space for all the teeth previous to orthodontic treatment. It is quite a young tooth, that is why the top of the root is not fully developed. This is the way a natural and healthy tooth root looks like, all white and neat, because it is fully covered and protected by the surrounding bone and gums.
On the other tooth, the smoking effect is obviously taking over the surface of the root, which means that the gums and underlying bone could not be covering that part of the root, jeopardising the tooth support and eventually leading to the loss of the tooth.
Gum disease or the loss of the support of the teeth, is caused by bacteria but once stablished, smoking makes it a lot more difficult to tackle.
- Smoking affects your immune system, this makes it harder to fight off a gum infection.
- The more you smoke, the greater your risk for gum disease.
- The longer you smoke, the greater your risk for gum disease.
- Treatment for gum disease may not work as well for people who smoke.
And, if a this is how a tooth looks like from smoking, what is the effect on the rest of the body?
On the positive side, the immune system and response of our gums to an infection, recovers to the same level of that of a non-smoker when quitting.
www.pearldental.co.uk
02087698318
